News & Blog

Need some holiday break reading?

UCF Libraries will be hosting a Take a Book, Leave a Book event on Monday, November 25 (the week of Thanksgiving break) from 11 am to 1 pm. The UCF community is welcome to browse the selection and take a book that they find interesting. If you would like to leave a book, you can do so but it is not required.

 Early drop off location for leaving a book is the Research & Information Desk located on the 2^nd floor of the John C. Hitt Library.

Hey Knights!

This month UCF Libraries is hosting National Novel Writing Month events. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a month-long writing challenge that began in 1999 and the goal of the challenge is to write 50,000 words by the end of November. NaNoWriMo is all inclusive, meaning that it’s open to anyone who wants to write a novel – including you.

On Wednesday November 20th stop by Room 223 from 1:30pm to 2:30pm for an author rights workshop with our scholarly communications librarian Sarah Norris. This workshop will provide you with some of the tools you need to understand and maintain your rights as they relate to you and your written work. You’ll also be able to learn more about copyright and licensing related to publishing and author resources.

Computer labs 235A and 235C will be open to writers for general use on Saturday November 9th, 16th, and 23rd from 9am to 7pm. If you are looking for a quieter space to crank out some words, stop by room 511 on November 9th between 10am and 2pm, or November 16th and 23rd between 2pm and 5pm. You can find more information and resources on our NaNoWriMo LibGuide.

Keep an eye out on our social media for more NaNoWriMo events and write-ins. Good Luck and write on!

Thank you to all the students who submitted stories for the 3rd Annual Knight Terror short story contest! They were fantastically creepy (and we’re all scared of the 1st floor now).

1st place winner receiving a Libraries coffee mug and construction ducky is Lindsey Wright with Laughing in the Face of Death.

2nd place winner receiving a UCF Libraries water bottle and Pegasus sticker is Carissa Barton with Tea Party.

Congratulations to both Lindsey and Carissa!

Special thanks to our judges: Amy Dovydaitis (CMC), Seth Dwyer (Circulation), Emma Gisclair (CMC), and Jada Reyes (Libraries Student Ambassador)

What terrors lurk in the heart of humanity? What scary thoughts skulk in the corners of your mind? What dark and spooky words will cross your page?

Can you creep out UCF Libraries staff with a scary story set in one of the UCF Library buildings?

Submit your scary story for the annual Knight Terror Library writing contest by 11:59 pm on October 27, 2019 to see if you can cause the best fright.

• Contest for UCF students only.
• One entry per student.
• 500 words or less.
• Story must be set in one of the UCF Library buildings (John C. Hitt Library, Curriculum Materials Center, Rosen Library, Downtown Library, or one of the Connect campus libraries).
• Stories with explicit sexual content will not be considered for this contest.

Submit your scary short story here

Winners will be announced on October 31, and be immortalized in STARS KnightVerse. First place wins a Libraries coffee mug and construction ducky. Second place wins a UCF Libraries water bottle and Pegasus sticker.

Judges reserve the right to not select a winner due to limited submissions, or lack of exceptional submissions.

Have you ever read Bridge to Terabithia or The Hunger Games? Then you’ve read a book banned for its religious viewpoint.

What about And Tango Makes Three or I Am Jazz? They were banned for having LGBTQ+ characters.

American Library Association’s Banned Books Week is September 22 – 28. It celebrates the wide range of books that have been challenged in their own libraries across the nation.

If you would like to pick up your own banned book to read, we have a full reading list ready for you.

Read a banned book with us this week: guides.ucf.edu/reading-lists/bannedbooks