News & Blog

Happy National Poetry month! Did you know that the United States has an official poet?

What is the United States Poet Laureate?

The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry — the full title — is the nation’s official advocate for the worth and impact of poetry. The Poet Laureate is appointed annually by the Librarian of Congress and may be elected for a second term. This position was established in 1937 under a different title with slightly different duties, funded through a private endowment from Archer M. Huntington. The current title was adopted in 1986.

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Welcome to National Poetry Month!

The Academy of American Poets, inspired by the success of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, created National Poetry Month in 1996. It is the largest literary celebration in the world and UCF Libraries are proud to do their part.

UCF Libraries have gathered suggestions to feature 12 books of poetry that are currently in the UCF collection. These works represent the wide range of favorite poetry books of our faculty and staff.

Since we are in strange times and realize that access to the physical books chosen by the Libraries is extremely limited at the moment, we have also crafted a list of digital poetry works that can be read from the comfort of your home: Poetry reading digital edition.

Featured Bookshelf: National Poetry Month

Are you looking for something fun to take your mind off everything that’s happening in the world right now? Have you thought about writing poetry?

The UCF Libraries 2020 Poetry Contests are now open for submissions. Try your hand at crafting a charming haiku or a slick limerick all from the comfort of your room.

Haiku deadline is April 12 at 11:59 pm
Limerick deadline is April 19 at 11:59 pm

Full contest details and submission form at https://ucflib.fyi/npm

*These workshop have been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.

Data Visualization Tools, Data Sources & Data Clean-Up

Monday, March 16, 2020
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
John C. Hitt Library, Room 223

Data visualization tools can be useful when considering sharing data and data analysis in visually compelling ways. Yet, understanding how to use these tools and determining which are useful for your research can be a challenge. Equally challenging is locating existing data sets and how to assess such data for clean-up when utilizing data visualization tools. This session will explore both of these aspects. The first part of this session will highlight several data visualization tools being used by UCF researchers, including ArcGIS, Leaflet, and Tableau. The second part of the session will explore data sources and discuss data clean-up considerations.

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Not being able to afford a textbook shouldn’t get in the way of learning. In recognition of Open Education Week (March 2-6), UCF Libraries are spotlighting the efforts of just a few faculty who have made course materials available to students at no cost.

Course: AML 3031

Professor: Farrah Cato created this textbook as part of the Challenge Florida: Open Access Grant.

“Open Anthropology of American Literature” (No Longer Available)

Semester started: Fall 2019
Students Impacted: 36
Potential Savings: $ 2,641

Course: ENL 2012

Professor: Christian Beck

“Anthology of Medieval Literature”

Semester started: Fall 2016
Students Impacted: 493
Potential Savings: $ 34,510

Course: ANT 2000

Professors: Michael G. Callaghan and Lana Williams created this textbook as part of the Challenge Florida: Open Access Grant.

“Exploring Our World: Biological and Archaeological Principles of General Anthropology” 

Semester started: Fall 2019
Students Impacted: 508
Potential Savings: $ 45,443

Course: POS 2041

Professor: Bruce Wilson

“American Government” by OpenStax

Semester started: Summer 2018
Students Impacted: 1223
Potential Savings: $ 138,100

Course: AST 2002

Professor: Thomas Brueckner

“Astronomy” by OpenStax

Semester started: Fall 2017
Students Impacted: 1466
Potential Savings: $ 306,394