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Biographical Research
Databases:
- Start with
Biography Reference Bank. This source covers 500,000+ people and is
accessible on + off campus. It includes both reference book material
and periodical articles with good full text content.
- Check Academic OneFile for periodical material by entering the individual’s name as a subject & looking for subdivisions, "biography" or “interviews” or “conduct of life.”
This database can be searched on campus and from off campus locations by JCCC students & staff with a current ID.
- Check LexisNexis Academic, one of the JCCC databases that are searchable on & off campus by JCCC students & staff with a current ID.
This file offers full text coverage of many national & international news sources as well as professional biographical directories.
- Try
ProQuest Historical New York Times, a full text & full image source, is
a wonderful resource for biographical information---interviews, articles, &
obituaries. Dates covered include 1851 up to, but not including, the
most recent 3 years.
- Use Marquis Who's Who on the Web. Who’s Who features approximately 1.5 million profiles taken from 21 Marquis Who’s Who print titles such as Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who’s Who in American Art, etc. Search by name, gender, occupation, geography, hobbies and interests, religion, etc.
Reference Sources:
- Use biographical resources from the JCCC Library reference area.
Below is a selected list of general sources:
- American National Biography [REF] CT 213 .A68
The ANB is a 24-volume collection of approximately 17,500 biographies of significant individuals in American history.
- Current Biography [REF] CT 100 .C8
This is a monthly periodical which cumulates into an annual yearbook offering biographical essays about international personalities in all areas of accomplishment.
Volumes from 1940-present.
Note: The material in Current Biography is provided in full text
format in Biography Reference Bank.
- Dictionary of American Biography [REF] E 176 .D562
Includes scholarly, signed articles with bibliographies for persons of all periods who lived in what is now the United States and who have died earlier than 1981.
- Dictionary of National Biography [REF] DA 28 .D56
Includes thousands of signed biographical essays on persons from Great Britain, British Isles and the Colonies.
Does not include living persons.
- Use specialized biographical sources.
There are many sources that focus on biography of leaders in particular occupations or disciplines, specific time periods, nationalities, ethnic groups, etc.
Ask about resources that might include the person you are studying.
Below are examples of specialized sources which are available in the JCCC reference collection:
- American Men & Women of Science
- Biographical Dictionary of Black Americans
- Computer Pioneers
- Contemporary Artists
- Directory of American Scholars
- Dictionary of Literary Biography
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography
- Black Women in America
- Butler’s Lives of the Saints
- Contemporary Authors
- Encyclopedia of Native American Biography
- Notable Asian Americans
- Notable American Women
- Notable Mathematicians
- Rock Who’s Who
- Something About the Author
- The Supreme Court A to Z
Circulating Materials:
- Look in the JCCC online Catalog, searching for the individual by subject.
Remember to enter the person’s last name, first.
Many of the first grouping of titles will be biographical.
- Try a keyword search linking “biography” and the subject area you are interested in; for example, “biography AND (science OR scientists)”.
WWW Sources:
Locate biographical sources on the web using your favorite search engine or try the sites listed below:
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