Can alumni use the databases from home?
Answer
Unfortunately, the license agreements we have with our database providers only allow access to current Rider faculty, students, and staff. After graduation, depending on when the Registrar's office changes your status to inactive, your off-campus access to library databases ends. Sometimes there is a significant lag between graduation and this systems update, during which you may have had extended access.
Our license agreements do permit access to any visitors to the library, regardless of affiliation, so you can use any electronic resources from inside the library.
If you are no longer near campus, there are some other options if you still need to use scholarly databases for research.
First, consult your local public library. Many public library systems offer access to databases, some may be the same you are familiar with.
Second, if you live near another university, you can call them to see if they also allow researchers to come to their library to use their databases. Most public universities are open to the public as well.
Finally, some databases are open access, and do not require a subscription. These are generally limited to those provided by government agencies, such as ERIC (U.S. Department of Education database), PubMed (health), and American FactFinder (Census Bureau), but may also have the information you need.