News & Blog

Feb. 5-8^th, 2017
John C. Hitt Library

Can you unlock the mystery of reliable sources? Join us for a week of events to help you become an Information Expert! For each event you attend you’ll receive a clue to the Mystery of the Missing Songbird. The closer you get to solving the mystery, the better the prize!  Participate in all four events to reveal the answer to the mystery and receive a UCF libraries grand prize pack!

Are you an information expert Quiz?
Monday, Feb. 5^th 10:30-12:30 – Main Floor

Can you separate fact from fiction? Stop by the library for the first clue in the Mystery of the Missing Songbird.  To receive your clue you’ll be asked to evaluate a series of sources and identify what makes them trustworthy or suspect.  Join us any time between 10:30-12:30 to begin your quest to becoming an Information Expert.

Workshops:

Fact checking 101 –
Tuesday, Feb. 6^th 10:00-11:00 RM 223

This workshop will show you how information experts evaluate sources using real world examples.  Participants will learn what to look for to identify questionable sources, how to verify claims and how to categorize sources.  Participants will not only leave one step closer to being an information expert, they will also receive a clue identifying what is at the heart of the Mystery of the Missing Songbird.

Choosing the right source for the right project
Wed, Feb, 7^th 1:30-2:30 RM 235C

In an academic setting the key to a successful project often lies in selecting the right supporting resources to use as the foundation of your work.  In this workshop, participants will explore how to choose the right resource for their project, and learn how to evaluate resources for fit beyond “peer review.”  Participants will also be given the clue to where news about the Mystery of the Missing Songbird first appeared.

Psychology of Fake News
Thursday, Feb. 8^th 10:00-11:00, RM 223

Day in and day out we hear about fake news, biased news and every news outlet trying to convince us they are trustworthy, but why do they do it?  In this workshop we will explore how media influences our understanding of the world. We will discuss what we can do as information consumers to effectively evaluate information and get well rounded perspectives.  Participants will also be given the clue that reveals who is behind the Mystery of the Missing Songbird.

Join us for a lunch break Open Heart Open Mic on Thursday, November 30 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.

Come join us for our annual fall Kram 4 the Exam. SGA will be walking around the John C. Hitt Library handing out goodies and study materials during the following dates and times:

• Tuesday, December 5th at 2:00 pm
• Thursday, December 7th at 7:00 pm

Hope to see you here and good luck on your exams!

Congratulations to our two Knight Terror winners!

1st place: “Chasing Cars” by Jillian M. Carver

2nd place: “Twitch” by Ryan M. Parente

Both are now a part of our KnightVerse in STARS!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a story. There were a lot of very scary stories to choose from which made judging very exciting.

This November the UCF John C. Hitt Library will be hosting our second annual series National Novel Writing Month activities.

What is National Novel Writing Month you ask?
National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo for short, is a month long writing challenge that began in 1999 and is run by nanowrimo.org. The goal is to write 50,000 words by 11:59 pm on the last day of November. It is a worldwide movement that is open to anyone who wants to try writing a novel.

Here at the John C. Hitt Library we will be offering four workshops and four open writing sessions:

Workshops

Marketing Your Work with Suzi Katz
Wednesday, November 8, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
LIB-235C

Learn how to market your work including creating a social media marketing campaign.

Author Rights Workshop with Sarah Norris
Wednesday, November 15, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
LIB-235A

Learn how to be a copyright savvy author! This workshop is an overview of:
• Copyright and licensing, as it pertains to publishing
• Your rights as an author and tips on how to keep them
• Copyright and author rights resources
Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Agents, Editors, Magazine and Book Publishing with Dr. Jamie Poissant
​Thursday, November 16. 10:30 – 11:30 am
LIB-235C

Finding, and using, agents and editors to publish your work in various formats.

Deciding When, Where, and How to Publish with Dr. Lisa Roney
Monday, November 27, 1:30 – 2:30 pm
LIB-235C

Now that you’ve been writing all month (and beyond), what do you do with your work? How do I tell when my work is ready for publication? What kind of publication makes sense for me? What else can I do to perfect and share my work? If you have questions about the publication process, come to this workshop led by UCF Associate Professor of Creative Writing and Editor of The Florida Review literary magazine.

Open Writing Sessions in LIB-235C

Friday, November 3
11 am – 1:00 pm

Tuesday, November 7
9:00 – 11:00 am

Friday, November 17
1:00 – 3:00 pm

Thursday, November 30
1:30 – 3:30 pm

For more information about the UCF NaNoWriMo activities and a list of writing resources, check out our LibGuide: guides.ucf.edu/nanowrimo