Biography Resource Guide: Databases

Biography in Context (formerly The Biography Resource Center) from Gale contains over 600,000 biographies for more than 525,000 individuals from such sources as Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Newsmakers (also in Sawyer: REF CT120.C66 1988-2005), Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (8th ed. in Sawyer: REF ML105 .B16 1992), Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists, Contemporary Black Biography, Writers Directory, and Marquis Who's Who.

Also includes the full-text of biographical articles from over 325 magazines and newspapers. Entries can be searched by several fields including name, gender, occupation, ethnicity, and birth/death dates. Articles include links to websites with further information on the subjects.

A major database for all types of primary and secondary biographical resources in this field, including the African American National Biography, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, and the Encyclopedia of African American History.

Full-text ProQuest database consists of scanned images of the actual paper. Sawyer Library has current NYT issues in print and back issues on microfilm. In addition to articles, users can search for obituaries, a good source of biographical information. For more up-to-date issues check LexisNexis Academic for the NYT, as well as full-text of many other domestic and international newspapers.