Biographies: Finding Information about a person

Reference Books

Some General encyclopedias

In Chemeketa's library, general encyclopedias are shelved in the 031s in the reference area. Older editions are available to check out in the 031 circulating section.

• Encyclopedia Americana [R 031 En12]
• Encyclopedia Britannica [R 031 En1]
• World Book Encyclopedia [R 031 W89]

Biographical Dictionaries

At Chemeketa, general biographical dictionaries are found in Reference in the 920s. Most libraries will have at least some of these reference books:

Americans

• American national biography [R 920.073 Am33]
• Dictionary of American Biography [R920.073 D56] (covers only dead persons)
• Great Lives from History: American Series [R 920.073 G79]
• Notable American Women [R 920.720973 N84]
• Notable Asian Americans [R 920.009295073 N84]
• Notable Black American Men [R 920.7108996]
• Notable Black American Women [R 920.7208996073]
• Notable Latino Americans [R 920.009268 M47]
• Notable twentieth-century Latin American women [R 920.72098 N84]
• Notable Native Americans [R 920.00297 N84]
• Who's Who in America [R920.073 W62; Marquis  Who's who" biographies also online on LexisNexis]

International

• Current Biography [R920 C93] Covers persons who are living at the time of publication. It comes out yearly. An index volume covers the period 1940-2005.
• Great Lives from History: Ancient and Medieval Series [R 920.009 G793]
• Great Lives from History: Renaissance to 1900 Series [R 920.009 G79]
• Great Lives from History: Twentieth Century Series [R 920.009 G792]
• Dictionary of National Biography [R920.042 D56] Covers dead British persons
• Encyclopedia of World Biography [R 920 M17; also online in Discovering Collection]
• Women in world history : a biographical encyclopedia [R 920.7203 W84; also online in Gale Virtual Reference]

Electronic Reference Databases

Some of the library's electronic databases include biographical material. When you use these, remember to put the person's last name first, e.g.,

          Gandhi, Indira
          Jordan, Michael

If that does not work, then try forward order:

          Indira Gandhi
          Michael Jordan

Discovering Collection

Has biographical material on a wide variety of persons, living and dead, real and mythical.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Has a large biographical dictionary of women, and some biographical entries in other books.

Literature Resource Center

For biographies of writers, dead and living. Also includes illustrators, editors, and publishers.

LexisNexis Academic

For business figures and prominent persons. Click the People tab to search for names.

Oxford Reference Online Premium Collection

You can search in hundreds of reference books at once.

Finding Books

Use the subject search in the library catalog. Type the last name, comma, then the first name.

Finding Articles In Magazines, Newspapers, or Journals

From the library's database page, use Gale Academic Onefile or Gale General Onefile. Click the Browse Subjects link in the toolbar banner and enter the persons's name, last name first.

Click on the name to see articles.

For further help, call (503)399-5231 or e-mail Reference.

Address of this page: HTTP://library.chemeketa.edu/instruction/biography.htm

Updated by Reference.