Monday, March 6, 2017

Keep up-to-date with LexisNexis

Have a class assignment asking you to prepare a hot button issue and want to be sure you are pulling from legit sources?  Check out LexisNexis database and the "Hot Topics Links" pulled from front pages of newspapers worldwide each day.  LexisNexis Academic* is one of our best resources for finding current news from a variety of national and international sources, which ensures you are not just looking at an issue from one side. LexisNexis Academic offers users information from over thousands of sources, including newspapers, magazines, trade journals, wire services, broadcast transcripts, and blogs. As with most database results, LexisNexis Academic retrieves full-text articles that can be downloaded, printed, or sent to your email address.

In addition to searching the latest news, you can turn to LexisNexis Academic for your business class concerns as well.  This database holds corporate profiles, SEC Filings, law reviews, court decisions and more. Tabs and specialized search forms including check boxes, pop-down selection menus can help even beginner searches retrieve relevant results quickly.  We all know researching the latest news or finding company profiles can be hard; if you have questions while searching this database, help can be found either from the menu on the left side of the screen, or by asking one of the librarians.
*LexisNexis can be found under our database listing on the Ripon College Lane Library home, under the dropdown list of databases.  If you are looking for a more extensive or historical results from the NY Times, don't forget to sign up for an individual pass at NYTimes.com/pass and follow the instructions.  This will provide the Ripon College community with access to the NYTimes back to 1851.  More information on this can be found here.

Friday, September 30, 2016

Registered to vote?

This week on campus we were fortunate to have the League of Women Voters here registering students for National Voter Registration Day.  If you missed it, don't worry; we have you covered.  Check out the links below on voter registration to be certain that you are ready to vote on November 8th.  

vote.gov: Information for all states on voter registration deadlines, whether or not your state has online registration, along with a paper registration that you can print and mail in if your state does not accept online forms (FYI, Wisconsin does not).

Verify your registration: Choose your state and check your voter registration status.

Resources for Voters: U.S. Election Assistance Commission has a wide variety of information on everything from early voting, absentee voting, becoming a poll worker, voter guides and more.  

Looking for data and statistics on past elections? 

Voting and Registration from the US Census:  In election years, the Current Population Survey collects data on reported voting and registration, and later reports statistics by turnout, age, race and origin in various reports and graphics from the US Census.

Information on U.S. Electoral College: National Archives has a wide variety of resources on the FAQs of the Electoral College, historical election results, interactive maps to make predictions for upcoming election and more.

American Presidency Project: The American Presidency Project (APP), non-profit and non-partisan, is the leading source of presidential documents on the internet. Our archives contain 118,796 documents and are growing rapidly. Find data, graphs and other information about every presidential election in American history.

As always, if you have any questions that are not covered here or need assistance finding information, contact a librarian.  

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

New kid on the block

Hi, everyone. My name is Karlyn Schumacher, and I’m the official new kid on the block at Lane Library for the semester.

Lane Library’s usual Access Services Librarian, Kate Moody, is in London for the semester. This means that I’m basically the new Kate Moody for this fall, so I’ll be managing course reserves, interlibrary loan, the circulation desk, and teaching a few library sessions. Feel free to stop by my office (the one directly across from the DVDs) to say hello or ask any questions you might have whenever you’re in the library!

I’m currently halfway through my master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (yes, you actually do need a master’s degree to be a librarian!), which means I’m usually trying to find ways to procrastinate and avoid doing my homework in typical student fashion. As a result, I love to read, hike and camp, play fetch with my cat Jane (she’s pretty much a dog-cat), go to new restaurants with friends, hang out on the Terrace with cheese curds, and, of course, binge-watch shows on Netflix. 

As much as I love living in Madison, I’m also excited to be in Ripon this semester. I went to Ripon as an undergrad and graduated in 2015, so it’s been nice being back in a place that I called home for four years. This is my first time working as a librarian in a professional setting, so I’m looking forward to seeing what my time at Lane Library has in store for me. I’m betting on the fact that there will be bumps along the way, but I think the experiences I’ll gain here will be more than worth it. 

If you’re ever in Lane Library and have questions about a research project, want to talk about the Harry Potter series, or need some candy, feel free to stop by my office!

Harry Potter + libraries = two of my favorite things!

Monday, August 1, 2016

New York Times: All Campus Pass now available

Lane Library is excited to announce the access to the New York Times Digital Editions to all students, faculty and staff via the Academic Campus Pass.  

This Academic Pass provides access both on-campus and off-campus to the digital content of the New York Times.  This includes all news, archives, and special educational content, with a few limitations (explained below).

Each user must activate an individual pass by creating a unique account with the New York Times using your Ripon.edu email account.  In order to activate this pass, go to NYTimes.com/pass and follow the instructions.  Once you have activated this pass, you can use this new account to login to the New York Times website from anywhere.  

Below are a few FAQ.  Please contact a librarian if you have additional questions.

  • Where do I register? You need to register through the Academic Pass at NYTimes.com/pass.
  • Can I access the NY Times from off-campus?  Yes, as long as you have previously activated your NYTimes.com Academic Pass using your Ripon.edu email as your username through the NYTimes.com/pass website.   
  • Can I access the NY Times from my mobile device?  Academic Passes provide access to NY Times mobile apps; visit nytimes.com/mobile to download.  Academic Pass holders can also access NYTimes.com on any device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) with a browser.  Academic Pass does not include e-reader editions, Premium Crosswords, or the NY Times Crosswords Apps.   Also, Apps are not supported on all devices. 
  • How long does the pass last?  The pass is good for one year.  When you first register, NYTimes displays the date that your pass will expire and even offers to add a reminder to your calendar for you to renew within a year of your initial registration.
  • Can I access 
  • How far back does access in the archives of the Academic Pass go?  You will have access from the first edition in 1851 to today.
  • Are there any restrictions of archival access?  Yes, from 1923 to 1980, you may access only five articles per day.
  • How do I get to the archives? You have a few options.  You can use the regular search function, which returns results from current issues as well as archives.  You can search the archive independently through Article Archive: 1851-Present. Or you can browse the paper as it was printed through the NYTimesMachine.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Summer studying and reading what you want

As the semester is over and summer is here, I wanted to point out a few new resources that might be of use to you over the summer.  One is for test preparation tools and the other is for recommended leisure reading, as detailed below.


Learning Express*:  A wide variety of web-based test prep tools are available for Graduate School Admissions exams.  This includes the GRE, GMAT, LSAT and MCAT in the College Center of this website.  You can find practice tests available for the Praxis exam for education in the Career Center of this website.  All practice exams will require you to create your own personal login in order to save your progress.

NoveList*:  On the light side of resources, this one allows you to browse genres, find read-alikes, see award lists, or create your own combination of searches to find a work of fiction that will hit the right mood for a summer break.  If Lane Library does not have the fiction book you are seeking, there is a good chance your local public library will.

These two resources can be found in our list of databases on the Lane Library website and can be easily accessed off-campus from wherever life may find you this summer.  If you have any questions on any library resource or how to gain access off-campus, please look over the basic information available and contact the librarians with any specific questions you may have.

Enjoy your summer!

*These resources are provided freely to residents of the state of Wisconsin through Badgerlink (Wisconsin's Online Library).  These resources are set up to recognize your IP address and allow Wisconsin residents access to these resources.  If you are outside of Wisconsin, you will need to access them through Lane Library's website and enter your network ID when prompted for off-campus access.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Digital Senior Showcase

The 8th annual Ripon College Senior Showcase happens tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the C.J. Rodman Center for the Arts.  This year will include student research presentations, poster presentations, as well as an artistic performance.  Many of the presentations in the Senior Showcase tonight will be archived and available online at:  rcseniorshowcase.omeka.net  

While we are waiting for more of this year's content submissions, feel free to browse through last year's projects.  Started in 2015, this collection promotes the work from Ripon College students in a wide variety of disciplines and provides students with a permanent link to work they have done here.  

Past submissions include final papers, Powerpoint presentiations, and original images from a senior art portfolio.  Besides the direct link, this collection can also be found through the special collections on the Lane Library website.  

We will continue to update the online Senior Showcase as we receive submissions; if you have a favorite presentation after tonight that you want to learn more about, check back with the digital collection over the next week or two to see more. 

Best of luck to all of our Ripon College scholars tonight!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Keeping up with popular news

Did you know...

that Lane Library has over 80 print journals and many of them would be considered popular magazines?  In a world of having information available instantly online, some nostalgic still exists in the comfort that can be found in picking up one of the latest print journals.  Stop by the library today to browse through the latest popular editions, which can be found next to the circulation desk.  We even offer one-day checkout of the latest popular magazines.

Catching up on the latest news, pick up the latest Atlantic, New Yorker, orEconomist.


Looking for something outside of politics?  Browse through Jazz Times, Popular Photography, or Make.



Wanting to practice another language?  Pick up CambioL'Obs, or Der Spiegel.



Need inspiration for your literary side?  Poetry or Paris Review might be your choice.



Or simply need an escape from academics, we have Rolling Stone and National Geographic.


Can't find what you are looking for?  Head on over to the library website and the journal finder to see where you will locate 60,000+ academic and popular full-text journals available to you.


Need a little assistance along the way?  Please do stop by and ask one of your librarians!