News & Blog

Welcome to Diamond’s Hidden Gems, a blog series in which I introduce you to the University of Central Florida’s library services that you may not know about!

Publishing student work through journals and magazines is a difficult feat, often requiring rounds upon rounds of revisions. UCF has a way for you to share your work while providing you with tools to assist with the publication process. Continue below to read about UCF’s own digital repository. UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship (STARS) provides access to works by, for, and about UCF as broadly as possible, and for as long as possible.

The intention is to provide free, open access to a worldwide audience. It is an institution-wide digital repository managed by the UCF Libraries. STARS is open to all faculty, staff, students, and affiliates of UCF, though student submissions may be subject to an approval process. STARS also documents library contest winners, most recently the “Love Your Libraries” Sticker Contest (which has already ended, sorry!)  

If you’d like to learn more about STARS and the types of materials you could upload, please visit Diamond’s Hidden Gems – STARS.

The UCF Libraries’ Special Collections & University Archives and Digital Initiatives departments are pleased to announce the completion of a project to digitize the University of Central Florida’s student newspaper. The publication ran from 1968 to 2016.   

The newspaper’s first issue appeared on October 7, 1968, to coincide with the first day of classes at the newly opened Florida Technological University (FTU), now the University of Central Florida (UCF). The first five issues of the publication did not have a name. Instead, the paper referred to itself as F.T.U.???. By the fifth issue, it became known as the FuTUre. Despite the university changing names from FTU to UCF in 1978, the newspaper’s name did not change to the Central Florida Future until 1985.  

In the early 1990s, the newspaper became unaffiliated with the university. Over the next two decades, it was bought and sold to multiple different companies. It eventually became an entity of Gannett, the owner of USA Today and Florida Today. Sadly, Gannett shut down the Central Florida Future in 2016. 

Since 2012, the UCF Libraries has been digitizing 48-years’ worth of this publication. Unfortunately, due to copyright, only the issues from 1968 to 2010 are available publicly online at https://stars.library.ucf.edu/centralfloridafuture/. 

The university’s history covered in the Central Florida Future is an amazing resource. We are so happy to have it available and preserved. 

Congratulations to Lee Dotson for being named an Institutional Repository All-Star during the Digital Commons North American Conference 2021! Ms. Dotson is the interim department head for Technology Solutions & Digital Initiatives and has been the Repository Manager for STARS since it launched in 2015.

UCF’s Lee Dotson was one of four 2021 IR All Stars!

Ms. Dotson was introduced by Benjamin Gaunt, Digital Commons customer service representative, who described her as “…perhaps the busiest and most effective IR manager I’ve worked with — her repository contains literally hundreds of collections and has received over 5 MILLION downloads to date. This all-star leads the University of Central Florida’s STARS repository with extraordinary vision and collaboration — her tight-knit team at the library is known for bringing diverse, innovative collections on board and working closely with us here in Consulting Services to meet each collection’s individualized needs. As a result, I believe she may be one of the most knowledgeable and cutting-edge users of Digital Commons to date.”

UCF content creators, authors, and the community are the heart of STARS, UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship, which exists to collect, share, and provide ready access to works by, for, and about the University of Central Florida. Explore the collections at stars.library.ucf.edu. For more information about how STARS can help you share your work with a worldwide audience, visit our STARS Digital Repository page or contact stars@ucf.edu

With over 5.3 million downloads since 2015, STARS helps authors reach a worldwide audience by providing an online home for open access content! STARS, UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship, is the digital institutional repository of content by, for, or about the University of Central Florida. Everyday UCF authors use STARS to manage, share, and increase impact for their full range of scholarship while retaining the rights to their works.

UCF Libraries is building a digital time capsule, based on this year’s Diversity Week theme, Stronger Together: Unified! Connected! Family!

In this unprecedented year marked by COVID-19 and the continued fight for racial equity, we ask you to tell your story, share your voice, and be heard. Chronicle your connection to this year’s theme by contributing photographs you have taken, illustrations you have created, or text you have penned. You can influence how the present will be remembered. Share your message.

Submission information:

• Open to UCF students, faculty, staff, and UCF Alumni. 
• One submission per person. 
• Submissions will be digitized and housed in STARS. STARS is UCF’s digital repository to publicize, disseminate, and preserve works by, for, and about UCF.
• Submissions must be sized 8 ½” X 11” in a landscape orientation.
• Submissions formats are pdf, jpg, png, or docx.
• All submissions must be original work(s).
• Participants must submit a consent form granting permission for their content to be digitized and placed into STARS as part of the Qualtrics form.
• Submissions will be accepted August 1, 2020 – October 25, 2020.
• Sexually explicit content will not be accepted, and UCF Libraries reserves the right to omit any submission.
• All works will be placed into the digital time capsule as received; no editing services will be provided.

Submit at the Knights Stronger Together Digital Time Capsule Qualtrics form.