Kingwood College Library

BIOGRAPHY
LIBRARY SUBJECT GUIDE

CONTENTS

• Internet Sites
• Reference Books
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles

This brief site has really terrific links to people dead and alive!
Don't forget the library is still the best place to find information about people.

 FINDING PEOPLE IN REFERENCE BOOKS

In Kingwood College Library which uses Library of Congress cataloguing, biographies are generally shelved in the area in which the subject does his/her work, i.e., John Steinbeck in Literature, Cezanne in Art. Use the NHMCCD Library Catalog to locate these books by SUBJECT KEYWORD, using the person's name in the subject field, or by combining the occupation with the term biography, for example, BIOGRAPHY MATHEMATICIANS..

The following are examples of Reference books you may find helpful in your search for information about a famous person.

General Works including biographies of people from a variety of disciplines. Using the indexes in the multivolume sets will help locate the biography you need.

• Current Biography - REF CT100 .C8 - Noteworthy people from the current year.  Indexed by 5 year groupings as well as each volume independently.
• Encyclopedia of World Biography - REF CT103 .M27 - This encyclopedia, originally 11 volumes with a study guide and an index in the 12th volume, has been supplemented in two groups. The first supplement includes volumes 13 - 15, which are indexed in volume 16. The second supplement is in volume 17, with a separate index in that volume.  Individuals are grouped by occupational categories and nationality, ex. Statesmen, American, or Artists, American.
• Webster's New Biographical Dictionary - REF CT103  .W4 - Very brief entries are given with a pronunciation guide for names.
• Newsmakers - REF CT120 .C663 - Information on people from current news, with listings in alphabetical order by year.  The set has a cumulative index.
• Dictionary of National Biography - REF DA28 .D56 - A multi-volume set giving biographical information on people of British and Irish race and the colonies, excluding the United States, from early history to the present.
• Dictionary of American Biography - REF E176.D563 -An excellent place to find biographies of famous American historical figures.

Who's Who - Many titles of sets of biographical texts include the words "Who's Who" or "Who Was Who".  Sets are available for specific nationalities, ethnic groups, geographical regions, and fields of endeavor.  The titles listed below are just a few examples of the many Who's Who sets available in the NHMCCD Libraries.

• International Who's Who - REF CT120 .I5
• Who Was Who in America  - REF D176 .W642
• Who Was Who in Native American History - REF E89 .W35
• Who's Who in American Politics - REF E176 .W6424
• Who's Who of American Women - REF E176 .W647
• Who Was Who in the American Revolution - REF E206 .P87
• Who Was Who in World Exploration - REF G200 .W24
• Rock Who's Who (musicians) - REF ML102 .R6 H5
• Who Wrote That Song? - REF ML120 .U5 J23
• Who Was Who in American Art - N6512 .F26

Subject Areas - Biographical information can be found on groups of people who are prominent in a specific occupation or field of endeavor. Some of the titles listed below will help locate information on people from these fields.

• Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects - REF NA40 .M25
• Dictionary of Literary Biography - REF PN41 .D5
• Biographical Dictionary of Scientists - REF Q141 .B53
• Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century - REF  Q141 .D535
• Dictionary of American Medical Biography - REF R153.D53

FINDING PEOPLE IN MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS

The best way to access biographical information in a newspaper or journal is through an electronic index. Biographies Plus Illustrated contains more than 46,000 biographies and obituaries and more than 20,000 photographs of subjects. You should also search a subject index which covers the field where your subject does his/her work, such as ABI Inform  for people prominent in technology, or in one of the general indexes, i.e., Periodical Abstracts.  Other databases which offer biographical information are  Ethnic News Watch and the Handbook of Texas .
 

Search using Boolean operators (AND, OR, or AND NOT) using ABI Inform (a Business database)
   
        bill gates and ( background or biograph? )

Select a database from the drop down menu on the  Kingwood College Library  web page, kingwoodcollegelibrary.com. 

FINDING PEOPLE on INTERNET

Biographical sources on Internet are constantly improving. Use the following Internet hub sites or search engines to look by keyword for the subject.

• Virtual Reference Shelf  - Great links to sites offering biographical information on people from many walks of life such as celebrities, Nobel Prize laureates, and inventors.
• The History Channel - A searchable site presented by the A&E Television Network, the History Channel web site presents historical information as well as information about documentaries, movies and miniseries presented on television. Many interesting links are available.
• Hot Bot  - A search engine which can be limited to a search for people or a person.
• Metacrawler - This metasearch engine will use your keywords (al jolson and biography) and search several engines all at once.
• Web-Search  - A page of many web search engines.

Or use the PEOPLE and NET SEARCH Netscape offers on the status bar.

PEOPLE SITES

• Ancestry - This site includes the Social Security Death Index, a searchable database of the Death Master File from the SS Administration. 50 million records created from SSA payment records.
• Biography.com - A biography database, also presented by A&E Television Network, offering biographies on 25,000 people and 2,500 videos.
• Vital Records Information State Index  - For amateur genealogists, state and county records of birth, marital, death, and state addresses for records offices. Links to other info.
• Genealogy Links: Finding Your Roots  - Kingwood College Subject Guide for Genealogists. Many links for people.
• Notable Citizens on Planet Earth - A biographical dictionary with more than 28,000 notable people.
• Switchboard.com - Residences and businesses nationwide.
• Who/Where? - Find people on the Internet using this site.
• Big Book  - Find telephone books online to locate 11 million businesses or people.
• Mathematical Biographies  - Biographies of prominent mathematicians.
• World Wide Arts Resources  - World Wide Arts Resources - 2000 artists listed as well as other information about artists and their work.
• Canadian Scientists  - A short list of in depth profiles on great Canadian scientists.
• College and Universities - Faculty Information  - Find a specific college or university - then search each by Curriculum to find faculty information.

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Copyright © 1999 [Kingwood College Library]
Updated: May 8, 2001 cbg