News & Blog

The UCF Libraries presents a Fall 2021 Foundations of Data Management Library Workshop Series starting in September. These workshops are a part of the Research Computing and Data Workshop Series, which is being jointly presented by UCF Library, UCF Graduate and Research IT, and UCF Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC). The UCF Libraries will hold workshops in September and October 2021 remotely via Zoom. Topics include: finding data sources from a multi-disciplinary perspective, finding discipline-specific resources for the social sciences and STEM, and data organization in spreadsheets for social scientists. Come join us!

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 | 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

Finding Data Sources Part One: An Introduction

Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.

Session Description: Data and statistics play an important role in conducting research, yet understanding how to find, analyze, and manage data can be complicated. If you are interested in developing data skills, the first of two workshops on finding data sources will provide an overview of introductory information to aid you on your path to being a data expert. The workshop will introduce the basic concepts of data and examples of how it is used in supporting research, including copyright concerns to be aware of. Additionally, information on UCF STARS, our institutional repository will be shared with a review of government related data resources.

OCTOBER 20, 2021 | 1:00 PM–3:30 PM

Carpentries: Data Organization in Spreadsheets for Social Scientists

Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.

Session Description: This hands-on workshop will cover how to tackle data organization by applying simple practices using Microsoft Excel. Good data organization is the foundation of any research project and learning to organize data in spreadsheets is one way to ensure your data collection is off to a good start. Some of the principles that will be reviewed during this session include good data entry practices by formatting data tables properly, basic quality control and data manipulation in spreadsheets, and how to export data from spreadsheets. Please bring your own device and have a spreadsheet program downloaded on your device prior to the workshop date.

OCTOBER 27, 2021 | 2:00 PM–3:00 PM

Finding Data Sources Part Two: Subject Discipline Resources for the Social Sciences & STEM

Location: Online Session, please see registration link for details.

Session Description: In the second workshop of the series on finding quality data, Government, Social Science, and STEM resources will be presented that are applicable in a variety of disciplines. Data source examples will also highlight open data sources, subscription-based sources available through the UCF Libraries, along with grey literature and preprint sources will be discussed.

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For more information about the workshops offered through the Research Computing and Data Workshops Series visit: https://rci.research.ucf.edu/workshops/2021/

The exhibit “Beyond the Barrier: The X-1 Project” details the design and development of the X-1 program and contains numerous pilot reports and photographs. Materials in the collection document the X-1 program from start to finish and were collected and used by Louis C. Rotundo when writing his book “Into the Unknown, The X-1 Story.” 

Louis Charles Rotundo was born on October 28, 1949. After graduating from Florida Technological University (now UCF) in 1975, Rotundo pursued his interest in politics, becoming an aid to the United States Senator Lawton Chiles. From 1980 to 1988, Rotundo worked for UCF, including serving as Special Assistant to the President from 1984 to 1987. After leaving UCF in 1988, Rotundo started Rotundo and Associates, a lobbying and consulting firm based in Central Florida. 

The exhibit was curated by UCF Student Alexander Jerome and runs from August 2021 through December 2021. The exhibit is on the 4th-floor gallery of the John C. Hitt Library. 

The 15^th Annual Student Book Arts Competition Exhibit is now open. The exhibit features all student entries for this year’s competition. The competition promotes the practice of book arts made by undergraduate and graduate students. The judges were David Benjamin, department head of Special Collections & University Archives, and guest judge Mike Taylor, Florida based book artist.

This year’s winning artist book is “The Bacteria That Kept Coming Back” by Claudia Prado of Rollins College. An honorable mention was awarded to “Transparent Tranquility” by Shannon Ganeshram of UCF. Congratulations to both students! Their artist books will be placed in the permanent Book Arts & Typography Collection at UCF Libraries.

The exhibit is on the 4^th floor gallery of the John C. Hitt Library which runs from May 2021 through July 2021. For more information, email speccoll@ucf.edu.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our 2021 poetry contests.

Haiku Winner
Colors by Madeline S. Anderson

Limerick Winner
My Best Friend by Mariah George

In addition to joining the KnightVerse National Poetry Month collection in the UCF Libraries’ digital repository STARS, the two winners also receive a UCF Libraries’ reusable water bottle and UCF Libraries’ ducky temporary tattoo.

Thank you to everyone who participated. You can read winners and submissions from all years of Libraries’ student writing contests at STARS KnightVerse.

Beginning Wednesday, May 5, the third floor, including its study rooms, will be closed to the public. Study rooms on the fourth and first floor will remain open and can be reserved by visiting library.ucf.edu/studyrooms or stopping by the Circulation Desk in the John C. Hitt Library.