Lafayette honors students may borrow books over the summer and have academic year-long borrowing privileges throughout their honors year. (Regular loan periods still apply for videos, browsing collection books, etc.) If you are not automatically granted these extended borrowing privileges when checking out a book at the circulation desk, please alert the circulation staff that you are an honors student so that the library can update its system for the duration of your honors status.
In most cases, the library is able to purchase materials that you will need ongoing access to for your research (in fact, the library often prefers purchasing a book than filling multiple Interlibrary Loan requests for the same book). You can suggest books for purchase by filling out our online form. If you need ongoing access to expensive or rare materials, please consult a reference librarian by sending email to refdesk@lafayette.edu.
Lafayette students registered for honors can use this research assistance form to request a consultation session with a librarian. The more information you provide, the better we can prepare for our meeting with you. You can expect us to contact you within a few days of submitting the form. Librarians are happy to meet with you the semester before your thesis year and multiple times throughout the year.
Zotero is a free, open-source tool that helps you create a personalized database of bibliographic references and automatically format those references into a bibliography in your preferred citation style. References can be imported from many online databases. Many honors students have found Zotero (or tools like it) invaluable for keeping track of and managing their citations throughout the year. Watch out for postings of occasional Zotero workshops or contact a reference librarian at refdesk@lafayette.edu for an individual tutorial.
Since the 2021-2022 academic year, the library has made student honors theses available online in the Lafayette Digital Repository (LDR). Students may submit their completed thesis to the LDR with the approval of their advisor. The library no longer accepts paper copies of theses. For detailed information about this service and how to submit your theses, see this guide.
Past theses written by Lafayette students through academic year 2020-2021 are kept in Special Collections and College Archives on the second floor of Skillman Library, and are available for use whenever Special Collections is open. Information about the honors theses in Special Collections is available in the Library Catalog. Search by author, title, or, for a list of theses written in a certain department, perform a keyword search for Lafayette and thesis and [department name], e.g. Lafayette and thesis and chemistry.
Read tips from previous honors students about managing a yearlong research project:
Ben Cluver, Biology, 2024
Abigail Schaus, Environmental Studies, 2024
Charlotte Vierling, Economics and Environmental Studies, 2024
Stefano Mancini, History, 2022
Kara-Lyn Moran, Environmental and Religious Studies, 2022
Kelly Mwaamba, Government & Law and International Affairs, 2022
Rustin Armknecht, Government & Law, 2020
Ayat Husseini, Anthropology & Sociology, 2020
Ren Makino, Asian Studies, 2020
Chris Mayer, Philosophy, 2020
Vincenzo Olivett, Neuroscience, 2020
Matthew Ackerman, English, 2018
Emma Glubiak, International Affairs, 2018
Jack Shaw, Geology, 2017
Noah Steinberg, Neuroscience, 2017
Matthew Plishka, History, 2015
Leikune Aragaw, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2015
Nicholas Limburg, Asian Studies, 2015
Madeline Gambino, History and Religious Studies, 2014
Sarah Hardy, Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2014
Joshua Hitchings, Biology, 2014
Tom Brinkerhoff, History, 2013
Rachel Davidson, International Affairs, 2013
Chris Kelly, Geology and Environmental Geosciences, 2013
Matt Mezger, History, 2013
Kelly Senters, Government & Law and International Affairs, 2013
Tyler Bamford, History, 2012
Daniel Ricken, Theater, 2012
Chris Murphy, English, 2012
Julie Pollack, Anthropology and Sociology, 2011
Hannah Klein, Economics, 2011
Brittany Maugeri, History, 2010
Jennifer Isherwood, Psychology, 2010
Sarah Kolba, Art, 2010
Christy Fic, Anthropology and Sociology, 2010
Clara Fisher, International Affairs, 2010