News & Blog

The Summer Knights Reading Challenge ended on August 1, 2019.

247 UCF students, faculty, and staff participated in the challenge.

A total of 550,948 pages were read.

1^st Place: Assortment of UCF goods (courtesy of Barnes & Noble @UCF) was awarded to Brandon T

2^nd Place: Assortment of Starbucks goods, including a gift card (courtesy of Starbucks located at 895 N. Alafaya Trail)  was awarded to Maya Santiago

3^rd Place: Fuzzy’s gift card (courtesy of UCF Libraries) was awarded to Melanie

4^th Place: Lazy Moon gift card (courtesy of Lazy Moon at 11551 University Boulevard) was awarded to TheShenanigator

Thanks to all of the participants in the Summer Knights Reading Challenge!

The Summer Knights Reading Challenge starts June 1 and ends August 1, 2019

• Open to all UCF students, faculty, and staff.
• It’s easy! Just track the number of pages for each unique book read using our form linked below (available beginning Friday, June 1).
• For e-books and audiobooks, simply verify the number of pages in the actual book using Amazon or another source.
• Reach the goal of reading 500 pages and win a prize pack!
• All participants will be entered into weekly drawings for gift cards and merchandise from BurgerFi, Catalyst Surf & Skate, Ice & Bites Cafe, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, KIND, Lazy Moon, Smoothie King, Sport Clips, and Starbucks..
• The top four people who read the most pages overall will win grand prizes.
• More information available here.

Enter your books on this form.

UCF Libraries, in partnership with the College of Graduate Studies Pathways to Success, is offering a full slate of graduate workshops during the summer 2019 semester including Library Research & Literature Review Strategies, Planning Poster Sessions, EndNote & RefWorks: Citing Made Easy, Apps to Help Optimize Your Research Life, Optimizing Your Online Presence, Where to Publish & Author Rights, Presentation Skills, and Introduction to Data Documentation. Online sessions have been added to several of the workshops.

Registration for these workshops is required and is done through myUCF (Student Center → Graduate Students → Pathways to Success)

LIBRARY RESEARCH & LITERATURE REVIEW STRATEGIES
What strategies do you use to conduct library research? This session highlights effective strategies to locate sources for literature reviews and research projects. Learn about options for citation tracking, database searches, setting publication alerts/notifications, Google Scholar tips, and examine literature review examples. Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
6/6/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.

LIBRARY RESEARCH & LITERATURE REVIEW STRATEGIES – *ONLINE
After registering in myUCF, you will receive an email with a link to participate in the online session.

7/10/19 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
https://zoom.us/j/405679645

ENDNOTE & REFWORKS: CITING MADE EASY!
Citation Management Tools allow you to dedicate more time to research! Join us to learn how to export citations from library databases, organize citations, generate bibliographies, and format citations in a Word document. Endnote & RefWorks can help make managing your references and formatting citations easy!

Face-to-face sessions cover BOTH products. Please bring your own laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
5/31/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.
6/12/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.
7/11/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.
7/22/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.

ENDNOTE & REFWORKS: CITING MADE EASY! *ONLINE
Online webinar this summer will briefly introduce the basics for BOTH products. After registering in myUCF, you will receive an email with a link to participate in the online session.

7/16/19 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
https://zoom.us/j/148718285

WHERE TO PUBLISH & AUTHOR RIGHTS
How do you decide which journals are a best fit for your manuscript? Do you know that all rights to a work are often assigned to publishers when a manuscript is accepted? Learn to be a savvy author!

This two-part workshop will cover criteria to consider when planning where to submit your work for publication and basic information about copyright as it pertains to publishing. In Where to Publish we will look at factors like acceptance rates, audience, indexing, cost to publish and open access, among others. The Author Rights section will discuss how author rights are a bundle of rights that may be negotiated by the author. Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
5/29/19 3:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m.
6/19/19 2:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.
7/18/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.

PRESENTATION SKILLS
Does the idea of giving a presentation freak you out? I have good news and bad news. Bad news – presentations are unavoidable in your courses and in your future career path. Good news – presentation skills are something
you can easily improve! This session provides tips, tricks, and ideas for how to become a better presenter. There will also be time at the end for Q&A (and to practice speaking to a crowd!).

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
7/25/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.

PRESENTATION SKILLS – *ONLINE
After registering in myUCF, you will receive an email with a link to participate in the online session.

6/11/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.
https://zoom.us/j/543717414

PLANNING POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Planning a research poster session? Learn the basics of poster design and tips for editing free PowerPoint poster templates. This session reviews poster elements for layout, graphics, printing, and includes examples of well designed posters. Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
6/13/19 Noon – 1:00 p.m.

PLANNING POSTER PRESENTATIONS – *ONLINE
After registering in myUCF, you will receive an email with a link to participate in the online session.

7/17/19 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
https://zoom.us/j/984892377

APPS TO HELP ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH LIFE
Do you ever wonder if there is a great app out there that you are missing out on? Need help staying organized, taking notes, or need a better way to communicate with classmates over shared projects? Well look no further
as this session will introduce helpful and important apps that all grad students should love and use! We will cover organization, project management, reference, and science apps that will keep you at your best while you are in grad school and beyond. Please bring your mobile device or laptop as we test drive the apps during the
presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
5/30/19 2:00 p.m. — 3:00 p.m.
6/12/19 3:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m.
7/16/19 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

OPTIMIZING YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
Join us for this two in one workshop to learn more about evaluating research impacts and managing your online research profile.
Part 1: Citation Metrics & Measuring Impact: Citation metrics provide quantitative data used to evaluate the impact of a scholar’s research. Several methods and tools exist to assist scholars with obtaining
information about citation counts and impact data, such as ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other citation counting tools by discipline. Metrics also assist scholars with identifying key journals and notable
researchers in their field.
Part 2: Managing Researcher Profiles: In part two of the workshop we’ll discuss why it’s important to develop an online profile as a researcher, how to promote your work and connect to other researchers, and we will also look at several sites in depth. See what ORCID, LinkedIn, Research Gate,
Academia.edu, PIVOT, Plum Analytics, and Google Scholar can do for you. Please bring your laptop if you would like to follow along with the presentation.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
6/27/19 Noon — 1:00 p.m.
7/23/19 1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

INTRODUCTION TO DATA DOCUMENTATION
Join us for an introduction to data documentation and metadata. Learn basics about research data, datasets and data documentation for data sharing, re-use and long-term preservation. This session introduces best practices and recommendations for documenting research data, including types of documentation needed, appropriate data formats, kinds of materials to be collected in the research lifecycle, and especially data documentation at study level and data level. The session also includes real-world examples and a discussion of data tools for data documentation, such as NVivo for qualitative data and SPSS for quantitative data.

Graduate Student Center, Trevor Colbourn Hall – Room 213
6/18/19 Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Come join us for our annual spring Kram for the Exam. SGA will be walking around the John C. Hitt Library handing out goodies and study materials during the following dates and times:

• Tuesday, April 23rd from 9:00 – 11:00 am
• Thursday, April 25th at 8:00 – 10:00 pm
• Monday, April 29th at 10:00 pm – 12:00 am

Hope to see you here and good luck on your exams!

Flights of Fancy: Joy Postle’s Birds
April 2019
UCF Library Main Floor
Artist, Poet and Entertainer Joy Postle was one of Florida’s pioneering Naturalists, but perhaps is best known for her entertaining and educational stage shows titled “Glamor Birds” in which she would paint Florida’s birds while sharing bird songs, music and poetry. This exhibit highlights some of her bird painting and poetry.

Nature Poetry on Display
April 2019
UCF Library – Featured Bookshelf
Main Floor – Knowledge Commons
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library main floor to peruse or check out books about nature poetry to help celebrate National Poetry Month. Get inspired to write your own poetry or feel connected to the Earth by looking through our featured selections. You’ll find the nature poetry on the bottom two shelves of the display next to the bank of two elevators.

Plant Pressing Workshop
Thursday, April 11, 2019
10:30-11:30
UCF Arboretum Nature Pavilion
Join Arboretum Staff for a fun and educational hands-on experience learning plant collection, and pressing techniques in our beautiful campus natural lands. This imPRESSive workshop will focus on the history, and value in preserving plant specimens for education and art! We will begin with a brief introduction, followed by our staff leading participants in a plant collection adventure, and ending with guiding you through plant pressing techniques that you can do on your own!  You will be able to collect, press, and preserve your specimens then retrieve them from the library once they are dry! We look forward to seeing you in the woods!

Nature Writing on Display
April 22-26, 2019
UCF Library – Featured Bookshelf
Main Floor – Knowledge Commons
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library main floor to browse featured selections on Nature Writing. Come to read about how to write about nature, why we should protect our lands, and what benefits nature can add to our busy lives! Feel free to check out these books or enjoy them at the library.

Arbor Day Hike
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
UCF Arboretum
Join the Arboretum in celebrating Arbor Day! We will be hosting a fun-filled day of activities including a guided trail hike, and tree planting event in the Arboretum.  Help us plant trees, and celebrate our beautiful campus natural lands!  Nature pavilion activities will include FREE FOOD (please RSVP through Knight Connect), native Florida flora and fauna education, personalized tree ring “crafting” fun, seeding activities, and geocaching!  See our flyer and social media outlets for activity times.  See you in the woods!

The Unseen Arboretum Workshop
Thursday, April 25, 2019
5:00-7:00 pm
UCF Arboretum Nature Pavilion
Come join us for a hands-on workshop at the UCF Nature Pavilion to observe nature in the flesh! Based on the book by David G. Haskell, “The Forest Unseen,” participants will head into the woods around the UCF Arboretum to observe a 1 meter square space. Participants are encouraged to utilize photography, sketching, or audio/video recordings to document their observations led by the guidance from a naturalist. Come find out about the natural history of our area and to produce a brief guidebook commemorating your experience.

Sea-Level Rise Planning in Central Florida Talk & Discussion
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
11:00 am -12:30 pm
UCF Library, Room 223
Come join Stetson University Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies and Faculty Director for the Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience, Dr. Jason Evans, on an engaging and thought provoking lecture and discussion regarding Central Florida’s plan for sea-level rise. Trained as a landscape and systems ecologist, most of Dr. Evan’s recent research has focused on climate change adaptation within coastal communities, with a particular focus on seal-level rise. Largely through research support provided through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), over the past several years he has conducted flood vulnerability assessments for numerous local governments in the southeast United States. Some of these communities include Monroe County, the Village of Islamorada, Satellite Beach, and New Smyrna Beach, FL; Tybee Island and St. Mary’s, GA; Hyde County, NC; and Beaufort, SC. Dr. Evans also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Environmental Management, a leading international publication within the fields of environmental science, engineering, and planning.

For more information about Naturally UCF visit: guides.ucf.edu/naturally-ucf