University Library News

Are you tired of juggling endless articles and struggling to organize your research? Discover powerful tools that can streamline your workflow and elevate your evidence synthesis in this upcoming workshop!

Join Kim Reycraft and Traci Mays from the Evidence Synthesis team on Thursday, October 16, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for an exciting workshop designed to help you master tools for systematic reviews and evidence synthesis.

What is Evidence Synthesis?
It’s a method of gathering, selecting and combining results from multiple studies to paint a clear, comprehensive picture of all the scholarly research on a topic—including published and unpublished work.

Why attend?
This workshop will introduce you to online tools that simplify the complex process of systematic reviews — from screening studies to managing citations. You’ll leave equipped with practical knowledge about the latest tools to make your research faster, easier and more effective.

How to join?
Registration is required. You may choose to attend either in-person or online. Sign up now on the library’s calendar page.

Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your research process. We look forward to seeing you there!

The University Archives & Special Collections (UASC) of the University Library is thrilled to present their newest exhibition—Nature’s Canvas: Works of the Southwest Florida Environment. This vibrant and immersive showcase captures the beauty and history of our region, and you’re invited to experience it starting Monday, October 20.

Special Collections actively seeks to collect and preserve materials documenting the cultural and environmental history of Southwest Florida. Their commitment to delivering diverse educational programming to FGCU and the Southwest Florida community is coming to life this month in Nature’s Canvas.

Megan Crawford, our Special Collections Librarian, and Emily Murray, Archives Coordinator, drew inspiration from the Southwest Florida environment, the local art scene, and the university itself. Crawford says, “I was very inspired by the passion and commitment to nature and the arts that I see walking around campus every day. I wanted to draw attention to those noble efforts and highlight the inextricable link between the two disciplines.” 

 This exhibition will feature photographs, paintings, sketches, films, music and more, capturing the beauty and history of the Southwest Florida environment. Nature’s Canvas will feature an array of local artists such as Clyde Butcher, Charles Ray, Lisette Morales, Doug MacGregor, Rob Storter and Andy Owen.

Crawford wanted to make sure she was creating a well-rounded and representative experience. In addition to pulling from 10 of their own collections, UASC is borrowing archival pieces from the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Collier County Museums and multiple private collectors. 

“Exhibitions like these allow us to highlight pieces that typically live in special collections storage,” said Crawford. “To display these connections is a real joy to me. I want this exhibition to be inviting and hopeful for the Southwest Florida community.”

Nature’s Canvas will be on display from October 20, 2025, through May 1, 2026. Visitors can explore the exhibition Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Room 322 on the third floor of the University Library.

The opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. If you would like to attend, you can RSVP here.

Please stay tuned for upcoming events and programming throughout the year that will dive even further into the themes of the exhibition. 

Nature’s Canvas offers something for the nature lover, art lover and everyone in between. We hope students, faculty, staff and the greater Southwest Florida community come out and enjoy this profound and inspiring exhibition!

Every week until the end of the semester, our library student ambassadors will be giving 15-minute presentations about different library resources. Each mini workshop will feature one of the following topics:

• Library Databases: Our databases contain multitudes of information! But how do you find the articles you need for your research paper with so much area to cover? In this presentation, our student ambassadors will demonstrate how to search for articles that your professors want to see on your bibliography. 

• Library Spaces: We are more than just books! Did you know we have spaces where you can engage in 3D printing, podcasting, see a museum-quality exhibit and more? Our student ambassadors will guide you through the stacks to the Makerspace, the Media Production Studios, the Archives and more in just 15 minutes.

• Printing and Technology: There isn’t much you can’t print at the library! Stop by to get all the details on how easy, quick and inexpensive it is to get prints of your work. From classic black and white to color to 3D, you’ll become a printing expert in 15 minutes.

• Equipment for Checkout: Did you know you can check out way more than books? You can check out cameras, calculators, laptops, dry erase markers, skeletons and the list goes on. In 15 minutes, our student ambassadors will add it up for you and show you just how easy it is to get your hands on them.

• Books & Call Numbers: There are A LOT of books in the stacks on the upper floors. How do you even find the right one? Our student ambassadors have you covered, and in 15 minutes, they will show you how easy it is to look up a title, understand the call number and find it on the shelf.

Join them on the first floor of Library West by the Data Visualization Wall area. These will be the best spent minutes of your day! Check out the library’s calendar page here to see the full schedule of our mini workshops!

Dive into the basics of legal research and writing skills with our upcoming Introduction to Legal Research workshop! Join Social Sciences Librarian, Steve Rokusek, and FGCU’s Founding Program Coordinator of Legal Studies, Dr. Robert N. Diotalevi, on Wednesday, October 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Students and faculty are welcome to attend this virtual workshop. Topics include a survey of the American Legal System, case and statute citation and the various types of authorities and how they apply in legal research. Rokusek and Diotalevi will also briefly discuss the library’s online legal resources. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation.

After attending this session participants will be able to:

• Understand the importance of legal research and writing related to the legal professional
• Appreciate the complexities of case and statute citation applicable to legal and legal-related practices
• Realize that legal research methods change and are challenged by new realities, global issues and emerging technologies
• Apply constitutional, case and statutory law in legal research and writing situations

About the presenters:

Diotalevi has been an Associate Professor of Legal Studies for 23 years. His works have been published in SMU School of Law’s Computer Law Review and Technology Journal, The Paralegal Educator, The Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice and The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration among other nationally recognized publications. He has been a lawyer for 40 years as a member of the Massachusetts and Florida bars. He possesses degrees in law, accounting, communication and taxation.

Rokusek has been FGCU’s Social Sciences Librarian for 11 years, serving as the liaison to multiple departments and programs, including Legal Studies, Criminal Justice, Forensic Studies and Political Science. He is the Sociology editor for Resources for College Libraries and has published articles on electronic library resources and collection development.

Register on the library’s calendar page HERE to get the link to this virtual workshop!

We want you to have more money for school! The library is teaming up with financial aid this month to help students fill out their FAFSA.

Every Friday in October we will be hosting FAFSA Fridays by the Data Visualization Wall area from 11 am to 2 pm. Join us October 10, 17, 24 and 31. A staff member from the Office of Financial Aid will sit with you one-on-one and help you fill out your 2026-2027 FAFSA. Please be sure to bring the following: 

• A laptop 

• FSA login (Username & Password) 

• 2024 tax info 

Snacks will be served. We hope to see you there! 

Are you an instructor that uses library books or articles as readings for your courses? Join us for a virtual DIY Course Reserves workshop this Friday, September 19 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

The University Library has made it easier than ever to add online articles or print books to course reserve "reading lists" using a platform called Leganto. Leganto reading lists can be embedded into Canvas courses using an LTI and can be reused easily year after year with minimal maintenance by instructors. More information about the reading lists can be found here.

This session will show you how you can place physical course reserves requests or digitization requests with the library using Leganto.  We will also talk about how you can add your own files and links to create comprehensive and student-friendly course materials lists.

Registration on the library's calendar page is required. Click here to receive the link for this virtual workshop!

Faculty, are you interested in enhancing your research by learning the basics of evidence synthesis and different types of reviews? On Monday, September 8 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., our Evidence Synthesis team, Traci Mays and Kim Reycraft, will host a Systematic Reviews & Evidence Synthesis: An Introduction workshop.

Evidence synthesis refers to any method of identifying, selecting and combining results from multiple studies. Their aim is to identify and synthesize all of the scholarly research on a particular topic, including both published and unpublished studies.

Registration on the library’s calendar page is required. Reserve your spot HERE! You may attend this workshop either in-person at LIB 222 or virtually.

This semester, The University Library in collaboration with the Department of Language and Literature are excited to present The Arts @ The Library on the second Wednesday of every month: September 10, October 8 and November 12.

From 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. students, faculty, staff and the Southwest Florida community will enjoy an evening of fine arts, music, theater and literature. All are welcome to present their artistic creations, whether it is a reading, screening, performance or a digital display of current artwork. We invite you to come out and see what the FGCU community has been creating! 

The event will take place on the First Floor of Library West. Please contact Anna Karras at akarras@fgcu.edu for more information.