News & Blog

Hello, UCF Grad Students and Postdoctoral Scholars! Do you have an interest in getting published in an Open Access (OA) journal but don’t know much about how it all works? Well, look no further. Here is a brief background on publishing Open Access and specifically Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Perhaps in no other year has the importance of freely open and accessible information been more evident than in 2020.  The mid-March outbreaks of COVID-19 prompted stay-at-home orders and quarantines throughout the nation, and Americans were sequestered to their homes for a quarantine that some have yet to escape. When universities, libraries, businesses and laboratories across the country closed their doors, the availability of Open Access documents and data helped us maintain some semblance of our daily routine, and a little of our sanity. 

As we’ll explore in this blog post, Open Access (OA) — the free and unfettered access to research — is important to each of us whether it’s in the classroom or broadly in society through everyday things and important research. In particular, we’ll highlight how the public health crisis has illustrated the importance of Open Access in all aspects of our lives. 

• Classroom.  When faculty and students suddenly switched to online classes mid-semester, several publishers and database vendors unlocked large collections of eBooks, journal titles, textbooks and streaming videos to be freely available to students and faculty researchers who had lost access to physical resources, like books, in libraries. PBS modified their daytime broadcasting schedule to provide free lessons for preK-12 students learning at home, and many agencies put content online for use in the classroom. Faculty at colleges and universities utilized open educational resources and other Open Access research to provide affordable and freely accessible course materials to their students. 
• Research.  As scientists work for a cure for COVID-19, publishers, organizations, and agencies around the globe have made large collections of coronavirus-related scholarship Open Access. This helps to level the playing field for underfunded schools and research institutes that can’t afford high-cost subscriptions. In addition, it helps provide timely and free access to the latest research, so that researchers can work together to better understand COVID-19, collaborate on new innovations, and develop vaccines. 
• Society.  When supplies ran low, hospitals were able to use Open Access programs to 3D print face shields and other PPE.  Newspapers made COVID-19-related stories Open Access so that people who could not afford subscriptions could stay abreast of developments.  Parks, museums, and zoos offered virtual tours, and musicians performed from their living rooms, opening their homes to people who couldn’t leave theirs. 

While we couldn’t possibly explore every single aspect of Open Access as it relates to COVID-19, we hope that these examples illustrate how providing free access to anyone, anywhere in the world can be beneficial to all — whether it’s related to the public health crisis or providing access to important research and innovations in everyday life. 

To learn more about the Open Access movement, its benefits, and ways you can engage in OA publishing and research, visit the UCF Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communication website for more information or contact Sarah Norris, Scholarly Communication Librarian at sarah.norris@ucf.edu.  

Now in its thirteenth year, Open Access Week is a global event that celebrates the Open Access (OA) movement. It aims to bring awareness to OA and explore the benefits it brings to all. In addition, it is a time for institutions to highlight Open Access efforts and activities locally at their institution. At UCF Libraries, we will be exploring a variety of OA topics during this year’s Open Access Week through blog posts and social media posts to help you learn more about Open Access and what it means for universities, libraries, society, and your own published works.

We have a new series called Research Tips Thursdays. Each Thursday we will be posting quick videos that focus on building specific research skills to make the research process faster and easier for students. Students can sign up to be notified when new content posts!  

The current week’s videos will be highlighted here https://guides.ucf.edu/rtt, as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages. You can find past episodes in our archives.  

Topics coming up:   

October:  

• Synthesizing Ideas from Multiple Sources  
• Is it Trustworthy? Election Edition  
• Using Advanced Search Options  

November:  

• Why We Cite  
• Following the Research Conversation  
• Identifying Research Gaps  

Wednesday, October 7, 2020
3:00 pm- 4:30 pm

Register to attend at Zoom – Supporting Hispanic/Latinx Communities through Florida Libraries 

Please join us next week for the UCF Libraries’ inaugural event to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, “Supporting Hispanic/LatinX Communities through Florida Libraries.” Sandy Avila, Science Librarian and UCF’s Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Engagement Librarian will moderate an informative panel highlighting the role Florida library staff play in supporting their diverse Hispanic/LatinX communities in the Panhandle, around Central Florida, and in South Florida.

Come join our fantastic speakers from the Bay County Public Library, Orange County Library System, and Broward College as we share insights into our Hispanic communities and how we are serving their needs.

Heather Ogilvie
Bay County Public Library

Heather Ogilvie is the Outreach Librarian for Bay County Public Library in Panama City, Florida. She specializes in nontraditional library services, using community partnerships to create innovative solutions for underserved populations. Ms. Ogilvie was the recipient of the 2020 American Library Association’s Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity for her work in Florida Panhandle after the aftermath of Hurricane Michael a Category 5 storm. Despite adversity, Ms. Ogilvie was able to serve outreach sites by helping to rebuild personal libraries destroyed in the storm and other materials to assist in community recovery.

Brigitte Martinez
Orange County Library System

Brigitte Martinez is the Assistant Manager for Marketing and Public Relations at the Orange County Library System. She studied Biology at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, in Santurce Puerto Rico.
Ms. Martinez’s job is to inform and educate Central Florida’s multicultural community by holding events, opportunities and programs that the Orange County Library offers. These services help improve lives.

Cristy Moran
Broward College

Cristy Moran is a faculty librarian at Broward College, an institution which serves a predominantly minority population, including a 38% Latinx student body. She is a critical librarian, a lifelong South Floridian, and Hispanic-American of Cuban heritage.