News & Blog

Like the rest of the MCU (Marvel Comics Universe), the setting of the Black Panther movie is a fictitious city, namely Wakanda. And although Wakanda isn’t real, the film’s artists did base many of the sets and costumes on real African countries.

Image copyright by Walt Disney Studios, 2018.

Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther’s costume designer, drew inspiration from the Dogon, the Turkana, the Hemba, the Suri tribe, and the Tuareg people.  Carter based jewelry and costume designs on the hand made neck rings worn by Ndebele women and African kente cloth. She was also inspired by Zulu hats and Nigerian chiefs when designing the look of the Queen’s and shaman’s costumes.

If you’re gearing up to watch the film or have already seen it and want to learn more about the cultures which inspired the film, check out some of these books.

Dogon: Africa’s People of the Cliffs

Spirits Embodied: Art of the Congo

Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa

Art of Being Tuareg

Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe

Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity

Speaking with Beads: Zulu Arts from Southern Africa

The Birth of Art in Africa: Nok Statuary in Nigeria

References:

African Superhero: How we made Black Panther, Chris Giles, CNN, 2/16/2018.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/africa/black-panther-behind-the-scenes-marvel/index.html

Black Panther Costume Designer Talks Creating a Wardrobe for a King, Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool, 1/29/2018.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/01/29/black-panther-costume-designer/

Image copyright by Walt Disney Studios, 2018.

Join us for a lunch break Open Heart Open Mic on Thursday, February 15 from 12-1:15PM in John C. Hitt Library room 223. The UCF Libraries is partnering with the Women’s & Gender Studies Program to present an ongoing open mic event series.

You are welcome to bring a story, poem, song, or any other vocal presentation to share – on any topic.

For more information, check our event page.

Any original work presented at an Open Heart Open Mic event will be eligible to be listed in STARS KnightVerse. STARS is UCF’s digital repository designed to disseminate, publicize, and share works by, for, and about UCF. KnightVerse is the area within STARS for library related student work. After presenting, see the Open Heart Open Mic host for information about submitting your original work.

No library can possibly have every book or article, and when you are doing research there are times where you need something that the UCF library just doesn’t have. This is when you need to call in the experts at the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) office. Libraries call this resource sharing, a way for libraries to make their resources available to each other in an efficient way.

Where do I go to make an ILL request?

Go to the Borrowing from Other Libraries webpage. There is a video introduction to the ILLiad software showing you how to make a request.

Things to think about

1. Don’t wait until the last minute to make your resource list for a project or paper. Interlibrary loan can take from 7-10 business days for a book (depending on where we get it from – it could be from Florida or from California). So, request your books early!
2. Articles are sent electronically within 3-5 business days typically. So, request your articles early!
3. While it seems like a good idea to interlibrary loan textbooks, most often other libraries will not lend them. Academic libraries generally keep textbooks on reserve for their own students and don’t share with other libraries. So, please keep this in mind.
4. We always try our best, but we are not miracle workers. That means that we can’t always fill your requests 🙁. Out of 16,000 requests from all of you last year, we filled 90% of them. Those are amazing stats, by the way.

Have any questions? Contact the Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services Department in the John C. Hitt Library 2^nd floor room 222. You can also call us at (407) 823-2383 or email us at  illbor@ucf.edu

The UCF Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives is pleased to announce the 12th Annual Book Arts Competition Exhibit. For twelve years, the University of Central Florida Libraries have been supporting the artistic works of undergraduate and graduate students in book arts. We continue to celebrate this unique art practice with the annual Student Book Arts Competition. Students submit their original hand bound artist books for the opportunity to receive a purchase award to be included in Special Collections & University Archives’ permanent Book Arts & Typography Collection.

A panel of judges select an artist book based on creativity, craftsmanship, content, and design. This year’s judges were David Benjamin, Head of UCF Special Collections & University Archives, and Benjamin Rinehart, Associate Professor of Printmaking and Artist Books at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

This year’s competition had some of the most unique books submitted, which challenged the selection process. Two artist books were awarded the top accolades by the judges, Reflections of Facts by Hannah Carter and F___My Life by Aaron Stefan. Both books pushed the boundaries of what artist books can achieve. Two distinct works, Reflections of Facts is about a personal loss and how we attempt to understand fact and F___My Life illustrates how economic and social shifts today have changed the perceived American life from a classic board game. Congratulations to both students!

This exhibit will run through the month of February 2018, which features all entries submitted during the 2017 academic calendar as well as past winners in the exhibit area on the 5th floor of the John C. Hitt Library.

UCF Facilities is scheduled to replace additional components of the building heating system this Friday and Saturday. It can’t be delayed until warmer weather as it needs attention now. The building will most likely be cooler Friday through possibly Sunday, so bring a sweater with you when you visit the John C. Hitt Library. Hopefully with these system upgrades the building will feel warmer for the balance of cold season. Thank you for your patience!