News & Blog

Next time you come in to the library, you will notice that all of the library’s books are now arranged by color! While the Library of Congress Call Number System has been the preferred system for university libraries for the past century or so, we felt it was time for something new. We think our patrons will agree that this new system is far more pleasing to the eye. No longer will the Hobbit have to sit atop a shelf with Dracula. What kind of system would make those two neighbors anyway? We love this new system and think you will too. Please leave a comment to let us know what you think of it!

(April Fools!)

The UCF Libraries subscribes to Physics Today, the flagship publication of the American Institute of Physics. This publication is the most influential and closely followed physics magazine in the world. Here are just some of the featured stories for this week:

A nonlinear look at music
Physics Update: Recorded music and other time series carry information on small and large scales. A new hierarchical analysis can help make sense of it all.
—Richard J. Fitzgerald

Science and journalism revisit the attribution of extreme weather to climate change
Science and the Media: Scientists report improved understanding: Attribution science now “brings climate change to our doorsteps.”
—Steven T. Corneliussen

Belgium drops request for US bomb-grade uranium
Politics and Policy: To reduce the risk of the material falling into terrorist hands, a US company will convert the uranium to fuel for Belgium’s research reactor.
—David Kramer

What do Amsterdam, New Zealand and South Africa all have in common?  They’re all places where books from the UCF Libraries collection have recently traveled to via Interlibrary Loan!  

UCF takes pride in being an international lender to help fill the academic research needs of foreign libraries.  In fact, there are currently 312 international institutions that are registered to request UCF materials through Interlibrary Loan.  

In the past year alone, Interlibrary Loan has filled over 100 requests from international borrowers, some of which pay large shipping costs to obtain valued UCF materials.

So, the next time you find yourself perusing a book from the library stacks, remember that it may have traveled far and wide, across the world and back again, to be in your hands now.

Can’t find what you’re looking for in the UCF Libraries?  Submit your own Interlibrary Loan request for a book, book chapter, journal article & more, by visiting the Borrowing from Other Libraries page on the UCF Libraries website.

Want details about the presidential candidates and upcoming elections? Check out our Elections and Florida Elections guides, the Library of Congress Election Stats guide, or try Google’s recently updated search option, provided in conjunction with the Center for Responsive Politics, to see more about presidential elections and campaign finance.

Find more election/campaign resources at the following sites – or ask your librarian …

• Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal
• Elections: Fact Checking
• Open Secrets
• Opinion Polls
• Public Agenda
• Supervisor of Elections, Orange County, FL

(Image used above is “Creative Commons Vote image” by Theresa Thompson is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Cassanello! His podcast project “A History of Central Florida” was recently featured in Perspectives on History. A History of Central Florida Podcast is a 50-episode podcast that examines the history of central Florida through local area objects found in museums, historical organizations and other places.

“History on the Download: Podcasting the Past” describes how the project began in 2012 when “…the University of Central Florida’s Robert Cassanello brought podcast production into his Historical Documentary and New Media class. He had some experience with podcasting and thought the form was well suited to a collaborative project that would require his students to engage with public history while also producing something of their own.”

Last summer the UCF Libraries partnered with Dr. Cassanello to make the podcast project available in STARS, UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship, which provided him the opportunity to add images, Google maps, and related resources to each podcast.

All 50 episodes of A History of Central Florida are available for free on iTunes and STARS.

Visit the collection to listen to podcast episodes, view images related to each podcast, and discover relevant locations using Google maps.

Like this project? Find out how you can put STARS to work for you, too!