News & Blog

Summer is nearly here! As faculty work to develop online courses for the summer semester, questions may arise about copyright and fair use. Common questions about online classes and copyright include:

• Can I scan a book chapter and post it in Canvas?
• Am I allowed to add a PDF journal article to Canvas that I downloaded from UCF Libraries?
• Can I link to a YouTube video?

Whether you have a question about journal articles, e-books, or streaming video, UCF Libraries is available to assist you with any copyright, fair use, or licensing questions that you have.

The Office of Scholarly Communication offers a variety of resources and services to help you navigate the complexities of copyright in your online courses. Visit the website for more information about copyright: https://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/scholarly-communication/

If you have questions about copyright and fair use for your summer courses visit UCF Libraries Guide on Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: https://guides.ucf.edu/covid/home. It provides excellent resources and copyright clarifications to aid you in this process.

If you have additional questions, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Sarah Norris, is available to provide general guidance to faculty and staff about copyright and transitioning their classes online. For the month of May, Sarah is providing online office hours, Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – Noon. You can also reach her through email or phone.

University of Central Florida, through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), has established the Federal Emergency Grant to support students negatively impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Technology is one of the items for which CARES Act funds can be used. Two specific examples are new technology for online classes and the purchase of laptop/desktop as a result to classes moving online due to COVID-19.

Students who need assistance meeting these unexpected financial challenges should apply for CARES Act funds by submitting a federal emergency grant request.

The form to apply for funds is available at https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86rDdVwFnV1Rj0h

Application window will be open until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Assistance is subject to availability of funds, and applicants must meet eligibility criteria.

UCF has a CARES Act FAQ at https://www.ucf.edu/coronavirus/question/how-can-students-apply-for-cares-act-funds/.

For additional resources, the UCF CARES office provides assistance in connecting students with mental health services, support groups, sexual and domestic violence support, and concerns about wellbeing such as financial and housing crises.

Library Support for Course Materials

Whether you’re teaching online or face-to-face, UCF Libraries provide access to a variety of materials that can support your courses — from journal articles, streaming videos, e-books, and more. But, these materials have a wide variety of access models that are not always evident. In this session, UCF Librarians Sara Duff, Rich Gause, and Sarah Norris will share how to navigate the plethora of resources available to support teaching and learning with a particular emphasis on resources that can be used during remote teaching during emergency circumstances. How to access these materials and ensure they’re accessible by students, as well as copyright and licensing will also be explored in this session. 

Faculty Session: May 28, 2020 – 1:00 -2:00 pm

Copyright and Student Works

Copyright is an important part of student works. As UCF students, they not only use copyrighted content but are also creators of copyrighted content. That’s because when a student writes a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, creates a presentation, or produces any other original and creative work, students own the copyright of those works — without having to apply for copyright. In this session, we will explore copyright as it applies to students and will provide context and recommendations that faculty can use to help foster students to be good stewards of copyright and intellectual property and to aid in ensuring student copyright is protected. 

Open to all: June 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:00 pm

We are excited to announce that Downtown Campus Library staff will be hosting a virtual book club! Our first meeting will be on May 20th at 6pm on Zoom. We will be discussing Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, a beloved classic set during the civil war era about four sisters who wish to live their lives on their own terms.

You can find Little Women for free on Project Gutenberg. This version and some other versions include two parts, which were originally published as two separate books. We will be discussing Part 1 which ends with chapter 23, but feel free to read both parts. 

We encourage you to share your thoughts, discussion questions, favorite quotes from the book, or just come and listen. Your hosts will have discussion questions prepared to prompt fun conversation. Please sign up here to attend the first meeting. We hope to see you on May 20th!

Did you know UCF Libraries has streaming video options that are searchable through our catalog?

We do! Alexander Street Press, Films on Demand, and Kanopy films are all searchable through the UCF Libraries’ catalog and can be used for online courses (or just for fun).

Alexander Street Press contains more than 80 collections filled with videos, audio tracks and playlists. The collections range from literature, black history, psychological counseling and therapy to religion, sociology and medicine. Entire films can be embedded in courses or only relevant segments. The full Alexander Street Pres video catalog search will require a UCF or OpenAthens login.

Films on Demand is a great resource that includes documentaries, TEDTalks, and even a playlist of Ken Burns series including Vietnam. Entire films can be embedded in courses or only relevant segments. The full Films on Demand catalog search will require a UCF or OpenAthens login.

Kanopy films are paid for by UCF on an on-demand, per-title basis so the selection is somewhat limited, but it includes popular films and a wide range of documentaries. Examples are Ex Libris: The New York Public Library, The Mask You Live In, Awake a Dream of Standing Rock, and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Please consult your subject librarian for any of these films to verify expiration dates. If you do not know your subject librarian, their contact information can be found through our subject specific list.