There are a number of very local unpublished reminiscences and personal histories by the Women's Institute, Fred Miles and other local residents.
There is a microfilm and fiche reader with copying facilities. This gives access to a set of Derbyshire trade directories on microfiche and census returns for the local area 1841 to 1901 covering Ripley and surrounding area.
Local newspapers are also covered, particularly the main local title, the Ripley and Heanor News. This is supplemented by a file of a local free paper, the Ripley Express 1989 to 1996 and a news cuttings file dating from the 1960s covering Ripley, Codnor, Heage and Denby, with subjects such as entertainment, industries, history, people, transport and roads well covered. Since 2000 the Ripley and Heanor News has been indexed rather than cut.
In terms of its visual past Ripley people are very lucky to have a wonderful collection of slides and photographs of the area dating back over many years. These are largely the lifetime work of Leonard Wood who generously bequeathed his entire collection to the library.