News & Blog

A Research Guide on the recently-released papers on the investigation of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 is available at https://guides.ucf.edu/jfk/assassination. Compiled by Government Documents librarian Rich Gause, the guide provides links to the 5 million page collection opened up on 10/26 by the National Archives, as well as links to the Warren Commission report and the 1978-1979 Congressional investigation. Whether you are a baby boomer who would like to take a look back in time, or a curious millennial, the guide gives you an excellent place to start investigating.

The UCF Library is a Federal Depository Library, providing a wealth of information to the Central Florida community. Research Guides are available on a wide variety of subjects, giving scholars a starting point for research.

This November the UCF John C. Hitt Library will be hosting our second annual series National Novel Writing Month activities.

What is National Novel Writing Month you ask?
National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo for short, is a month long writing challenge that began in 1999 and is run by nanowrimo.org. The goal is to write 50,000 words by 11:59 pm on the last day of November. It is a worldwide movement that is open to anyone who wants to try writing a novel.

Here at the John C. Hitt Library we will be offering four workshops and four open writing sessions:

Workshops

Marketing Your Work with Suzi Katz
Wednesday, November 8, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
LIB-235C

Learn how to market your work including creating a social media marketing campaign.

Author Rights Workshop with Sarah Norris
Wednesday, November 15, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
LIB-235A

Learn how to be a copyright savvy author! This workshop is an overview of:
• Copyright and licensing, as it pertains to publishing
• Your rights as an author and tips on how to keep them
• Copyright and author rights resources
Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Agents, Editors, Magazine and Book Publishing with Dr. Jamie Poissant
​Thursday, November 16. 10:30 – 11:30 am
LIB-235C

Finding, and using, agents and editors to publish your work in various formats.

Deciding When, Where, and How to Publish with Dr. Lisa Roney
Monday, November 27, 1:30 – 2:30 pm
LIB-235C

Now that you’ve been writing all month (and beyond), what do you do with your work? How do I tell when my work is ready for publication? What kind of publication makes sense for me? What else can I do to perfect and share my work? If you have questions about the publication process, come to this workshop led by UCF Associate Professor of Creative Writing and Editor of The Florida Review literary magazine.

Open Writing Sessions in LIB-235C

Friday, November 3
11 am – 1:00 pm

Tuesday, November 7
9:00 – 11:00 am

Friday, November 17
1:00 – 3:00 pm

Thursday, November 30
1:30 – 3:30 pm

For more information about the UCF NaNoWriMo activities and a list of writing resources, check out our LibGuide: guides.ucf.edu/nanowrimo

Join the UCF Libraries in celebrating Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.  This is a traditional Mexican holiday when families and friends gather to honor and remember those that have died.  Typically on Day of the Dead, elaborate altars are created and offerings are made to aid loved ones on their spiritual journey.

Thursday, November 2

10:30am-12:00pm
Documentary Film and Discussion with Anthropology professor Dr. Beatriz Reyes-Foster

12:30-2:00pm
Dia de los Muertos Craft Table – color calaveras (skulls), and make marigolds and papel picado, which are often used to decorate altars honoring the deceased

For more information about Día de los Muertos events in the library and related UCF resources visit: guides.ucf.edu/dayofthedead  

“OPEN ACCESS: ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT KNOWLEDGE THEFT.”

OCTOBER 23-29, 2017

The world of Open Access is a wild place! Explore the ins and outs of Open Access and what it means for you as a student and/or content creator with the UCF Library and earn badges in the process! There will be four opportunities to earn OA Wild badges. The more you earn the bigger the prize!
1 badge = A snack to fuel your OA Wild Exploration
2 badges = A UCF Libraries Duck Sticker
3 badges = A UCF Libraries Rubber Ducky
4 badges = A Grand Prize Pack

Oct 23 11 a.m.-2 p.m. What kind of OA Guide are you Quiz
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library and pick up your OA Wild passport. Once you have your passport, show off your OA knowledge and earn your first badge! The first 200 participants to complete the quiz will receive a delicious cookie from Insomnia Cookies to fuel you on your OA adventure!

Oct 24 2:00-3:00 pm Are you an Intellectual Cat Burglar? – John C. Hitt Library Rm 223
Are you an intellectual cat burglar? In this fast paced game participants will show off their knowledge related to Open Access, avoiding plagiarism and staying on the right side of academic integrity. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge for their passports.

Oct. 25 2:30-3:30 Creative Commons 101 – John C. Hitt Library Rm 235C
Calling all artists, musicians and writers! You’ve put your heart and a whole lot of energy into creating a new work and the next step is to share it with the world, but what’s the best way to do that, and keep it safe? This workshop will explore the variety of licenses available for creative works, how to license your work, where to share it and retain your rights. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge.

Oct. 26 10:30-11:30 You’ve Finished Your Research…Now What? – John C. Hitt Library Rm 235C
The research is complete and you’ve written your findings, now you’re ready to join the scholarly conversation, but you want to make sure you publish it in the right place to fit your future plans. This workshop will explore the publishing options available and the pros and cons of each model. Join us to learn more about traditional scholarly publishing, open access options and utilizing institutional repositories to make your research widely available. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge.

If you are interested in exploring more about Open Access, check out the official OA Week website: http://www.openaccessweek.org/

October is American Archives Month! And today, October 4^th, is #AskAnArchivist day. However, you can ask the archivists at UCF any questions any day so this year we decided to ask our interns, who may be archivists in the future, and employees about archives in general.

So first, what is an archive?

                “An archive can best be defined as a collection of significant items that are preserved for the purpose of research. There are many types of archives that have special subjects attached to them, but most are general in what is stored within them: publications, documents, ephemera, and even art. The history behind the items can help a researcher get to an understanding and answer questions that would otherwise linger as unanswered.” –Steven Trelstad, History graduate intern

                “An archive can be a physical place such as a large and insulated room in a library, museum or government building that houses its collections in boxes placed on shelves. An archive can also be an online entity where the collections are stored digitally.” – Bryan McDonough, History undergraduate intern

What’s your favorite thing about working in an archive?

                “I love how archives bring the past, present and future together.” – Kryslynn Collazo, History undergraduate intern

                “What I enjoy most about working in an archive is the ability to physically handle primary sources of information.” – Bryan McDonough, History undergraduate intern

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