Library and Archives

The primary goal of the Library is to assist students in developing 21st century research and media literacy skills. Students receive formal media literacy instruction through the Seminar Program, as well as integrated within the classroom across curricular areas.

The Library provides the school community a wide array of electronic and physical media collections. Students have mobile access to online research tools including: scholarly research databases; newspaper and magazine article databases; subject-specific guides to web resources; eBooks; streaming video; bibliographic citation programs; and the digital school archives. Students may also borrow physical media including: print books and magazines, DVDs, and video games. Print books and magazines are located in the Library Reading Room, while DVDs and video games are located in the J. C. Cowart Media Commons. The Library is open during the academic day Monday through Friday.

Library Catalog

The Library's web 2.0 catalog lets you save searches, create carts, tag materials, write reviews, renew your books and much more! Login to the catalog with your student ID (PIN is student ID without leading digit).

What's new in the Library?

See what new books, eBooks, DVDs and video games were recently added in the Library and Media Commons.

@lfalibrarymediacommons

9th Grade Digital Media Literacy Course

Media Commons Page

Video Tutorials Link

Database Links

Research Databases and Web Resources

LibGuides
Research assistance, subject guides, and useful resources compiled by your friendly library media staff. Know what we know - find it in LibGuides!

NoodleTools

Sign in with Google and your school email address

Auto-generate bibliographies and manage research projects by virtual notecards.

Jstor

Sign in with Google and your school email address

Used by millions for research, teaching, and learning. With more than two thousand academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources, JSTOR isone of the world's most trusted sources for academic content!

Gale Research Databases

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The Lake Forest Academy Library offers ten different databases as part of the Gale InContext suite. These databases provide a vast collection of resources that can be used for research papers, projects, and presentations, helping students enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Gale InContext databases are a valuable asset for high school students, providing them with reliable information, easy-to-use tools, and the support they need for academic success. Whether you're working on a school assignment or exploring your interests, these databases can assist you in finding the information necessary to excel in your studies.

Biography
Environmental Studies
Opposing Viewpoints
World History
Literature
Science
US History
World History
Global Issues
General One File (Full Text Magazines, Newspapers, and Journal Articles)
High School: (An engaging student experience merges magazines, news, multimedia and more)
For Educators: (Create Customized Lesson Plans with Gale InContext Resources)

Resources for Specific Subjects

Black Freedom Struggle in the U.S. (ProQuest)

Contains approximately 1,600 documents and primary sources focusing on critical events and people in African-American history from the era of slavery through modern times."

Ancient and Medieval History (Infobase)

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Ancient and Medieval History provides thorough coverage of world history from prehistory through the mid-1500s, with special Topic Centers on key civilizations and regions, including the ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient and medieval Africa, ancient and medieval Asia, the Americas, medieval Europe, and the Islamic World. Each civilization’s history is brought to life through articles, videos and slideshows, primary sources, and more.

Hispanic Life in America (Newsbank)

Go here for off campus login information

Provides comprehensive coverage of the Hispanic American experience from the early 18th century to the present day from over 17,000 publications, including 700 Spanish-language newspapers and periodicals.

Palgrave Dictionary
of Economics

You must access this resource on-campus using LFA’s wi-fi

The definitive resource for a new generation of economists. Contains all content originally published in 4-volume print edition plus archival materials, economics news, blogs, and more! Access is provided to the 2017-18 online edition.

Historical Newspaper Databases

Proquest Newspaper Archives

Go here for login instructions

Newspaper archives going back to the mid 19th century. Includes:

Chicago Tribune
(1985 - current)
Chicago Tribune Historic
(1849 - 1988)
Chicago Defender
(1910 - 1975)
New York Times
(1851 - 2008)
Washington Post
(1877 - 1995)
Wall Street Journal
(1889 - 1994)
Los Angeles Times
(1881 - 1988)
Boston Globe
(1872-1927)
Atlanta Journal Constitution
(1868 - 1945)

America's historical newspapers (Newsbank)

Go here for login instructions

America's Historical Newspapers hosts a collection of hundreds of U.S. newspapers published from 1690 through the 20th Century, including titles from all 50 present states.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1949 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. This project is hosted by the Library of Congress in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (University of Illinois)

This collection contains 116 newspaper titles, over 136,000 issues comprising over 1.4 million pages and over 6.8 million articles. The project is managed and hosted by the Library at the University of Illinois.

Current Newspaper Access

Chicago Tribune & Lake County News-Sun Daily E-Newspaper Access

CT Digital Access

The Chicago Tribune Media Group offers schools free access to the Chicago Tribune and the Lake County News-Sun daily e-newspapers through the News in Education website. Go here for login instructions.

Wall Street Journal Digital Subscription Access

WSJ Digital Access

LFA has a school-wide subscription to the digital Wall Street Journal. Go here for login instructions.

New York Times Digital Subscription Access

NYT Digital Subscription Access

LFA has a school-wide subscription to the digital New York Times available to all faculty, staff, and students. You will have full access to the subscription by obtaining a one-year Pass when you register using your school email address. This includes the NYT in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese.

To activate your pass, please follow these steps:

Open the above link and create a free NYT account using your school email address.
Check your email inbox for our confirmation message. Click on the link in your confirmation message to validate your email address and claim your Pass. If the confirmation email didn’t arrive, check your spam folder.
You have successfully claimed a Pass when you see the Start Your Access screen. Now you have full access to the NYT online and in the mobile app.

Financial Times (FT) Digital Subscription Access

FT Digital SubScription Access

The Financial Times (FT) is currently offering free online access to teachers and students (aged 16-19) at secondary schools around the world. You must access this resource on-campus using LFA's wi-fi.

To set up your free account please follow these steps:

Open the Financial Times link.
Scroll down to the box that says "Check to See if Your School is Registered" and type Lake Forest Academy.
Scroll a little further to the search results list and select our school.
Enter your LFA email address and click that you agree to TOS.
Check your LFA email for a registration confirmation from FT.com. You will need to follow the link in the email to finish the sign-up process and set up your personal account and password.

e-Books & e-Magazines

EBSCO E-BOOK ACADEMIC COLLECTION

Sign in with your school Gmail account

Student Access

Faculty Access

The EBSCO eBook Academic Collection provides you with unlimited simultaneous multi-user access to over 170,000 academic eBooks, including titles from leading university presses such as: Oxford University Press, MIT Press, Harvard University Press, and many more. The subjects cover all academic areas of interest.

NOTE: You must access this database using the Safari browser to download eBooks to your iPad. To read eBooks offline, you need to use the the Bluefire Reader App.

Sora E-Books, Magazines & Audiobooks

smartphone with text overlays reading audio books ebooks magazines in glowing type

The LFA digital Sora Collection by Overdrive boasts a vast array of resources, featuring over 2,000 eBooks and audiobooks alongside more than 200 magazines. Accessible via the SORA app on your mobile device or through a laptop browser, this collection offers a diverse range of content, including award-winning literature, academic texts, popular fiction, and non-fiction titles. Borrowing periods for eBooks and audiobooks typically range from 7 to 14 days, while magazines are available for simultaneous use. Enjoy exploring this rich reservoir of knowledge and entertainment!

Public Domain E-Books

Project Gutenberg: Access to over 54,000 free/public domain ebooks (fiction and non-fiction). You can download these ebooks and keep as long as you wish.
Directory of Open Access Books: Access to over 9600 academic peer-reviewed ebooks.
Internet Archive: Access to over 12 million free ebooks and texts.
Books to Borrow: 550,000 modern ebooks (fiction and non-fiction) for users to borrow for up to two weeks using a free archive.org account.

Video Streaming Collections

Kanopy

Off Campus Access:
Students: Select the Google Icon and Sign in with your school gmail account.

Faculty/Staff Specific Login Instructions

Kanopy is a film streaming service for libraries providing access to over 30,000 films including award-winning documentaries, PBS videos, independent and classic films, world cinema, and more. You can stream the videos on your iPad using the Kanopy app.

Swank

*Students can only access Swank when a video link is assigned by a teacher.

Go here for login instructions.

Teachers have access to stream the top feature films, documentaries and foreign films most used for High School instructional support. Teachers have the ability to REQUEST additional films in the Swank Collection if it is for curricular support.

Please reach out to Ms. Kolovitz for any questions.

Please see the LFA ARCHIVES LIBGUIDE for articles about the history of Lake Forest Academy and Ferry Hall and a link to the Digital Archives!

The history of Lake Forest Academy includes the founding, development, and eventual merger of two schools: Lake Forest Academy and Ferry Hall. The LFA Archives serves as the institutional memory of LFA and Ferry Hall through the collection and preservation of historically significant materials from both schools. Dating from the 19^th century through the present, this eclectic collection includes: administrative records; school catalogs and publications; original and digitized photographs; videotapes and DVDs; yearbooks; diaries; scrapbooks; school newspapers; architectural drawings; artworks; textiles; and realia that directly relate to LFA and Ferry Hall history. The LFA Archives provides a unique storage environment that protects these items and better ensures the longevity of their preservation.