Biography Resource Center
What is it for?
This database indexes many biographical resources published by Gale. It includes historical figures as well as contemporary people.
How do I get to it?
1. Start at the Grafton Public Library homepage. Click Online and Digital Resources from the list on the left.
2. Scroll down to "Biography in Context".
3. Click on Biography in Context.
4. If you are asked for a login or password, type in your library barcode number.
How does it work? Try it out!
Depending on the person you are searching for, you may get a screen with the correct information or you may get an alphabetical list. Once you are viewing the page for your person, the first article, the one that says View More after it, probably is fine. The one under "Expert Picks" is probably fine as well. If you want even more articles, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
If you get an alphabetical list, pick the person you are looking for and click the name. Then scroll down for the articles.
If you see a link that says Disambiguation, click it to see a list of people who may be related to the person you searched for. Also in the list may be people with your search terms in their name. Try GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Type GEORGE BUSH in the box and click Search. You will be taken to an alphabetical list of names that match the terms you specified, and you have to pick the right one. Find Bush, George W. with President (Government) next to it and click on the link. From this next page you will have several choices, such as
This database indexes many biographical resources published by Gale. It includes historical figures as well as contemporary people.
How do I get to it?
1. Start at the Grafton Public Library homepage. Click Online and Digital Resources from the list on the left.
2. Scroll down to "Biography in Context".
3. Click on Biography in Context.
4. If you are asked for a login or password, type in your library barcode number.
How does it work? Try it out!
Depending on the person you are searching for, you may get a screen with the correct information or you may get an alphabetical list. Once you are viewing the page for your person, the first article, the one that says View More after it, probably is fine. The one under "Expert Picks" is probably fine as well. If you want even more articles, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
If you get an alphabetical list, pick the person you are looking for and click the name. Then scroll down for the articles.
If you see a link that says Disambiguation, click it to see a list of people who may be related to the person you searched for. Also in the list may be people with your search terms in their name. Try GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Type GEORGE BUSH in the box and click Search. You will be taken to an alphabetical list of names that match the terms you specified, and you have to pick the right one. Find Bush, George W. with President (Government) next to it and click on the link. From this next page you will have several choices, such as
- reference sources, which can be anything from a paragraph to 4-6 printed pages;
- magazine and newspaper articles, which will have biographical information in them;
- and websites (click the link for the list of Gale-approved sites).
In some cases a picture of the person is included, but this is mainly a textual database, not a graphical one, so pictures are not always available.
Either click the headline to see the text or click the link to see all articles of a certain type.
From the article page, you can either print the item (printouts in the library are 10˘ per page) or email it for later use. If you email it, it should be in your mailbox within minutes.
Citations
Once you are viewing an article, you can see the citation at the bottom, ready-made for use in a bibliography.
Other searches
People
Click the People tab to browse a list of names and categories. This may be useful if you don't have a specific person or anything else to search on. You can skim the lists and see if any look interesting.
Person Search
This can be helpful if you don't have a specific person in mind but has to do a certain occupation or nationality. From the main screen click Person Search in the top right corner. In the Occupation box click DANCER, then ADD. From the Nationality menu choose RUSSIAN and ADD. Click Search. You’ll get a list of people in the database who match your search specifications.
Advanced Search
Here you can search by words, specify where your search terms appear, or limit by document type. For example, type MILLIONAIRE HAIR CARE, making sure the next menu says Keyword. You should then get the name of the first African-American woman to become a millionaire.
Either click the headline to see the text or click the link to see all articles of a certain type.
From the article page, you can either print the item (printouts in the library are 10˘ per page) or email it for later use. If you email it, it should be in your mailbox within minutes.
Citations
Once you are viewing an article, you can see the citation at the bottom, ready-made for use in a bibliography.
Other searches
People
Click the People tab to browse a list of names and categories. This may be useful if you don't have a specific person or anything else to search on. You can skim the lists and see if any look interesting.
Person Search
This can be helpful if you don't have a specific person in mind but has to do a certain occupation or nationality. From the main screen click Person Search in the top right corner. In the Occupation box click DANCER, then ADD. From the Nationality menu choose RUSSIAN and ADD. Click Search. You’ll get a list of people in the database who match your search specifications.
Advanced Search
Here you can search by words, specify where your search terms appear, or limit by document type. For example, type MILLIONAIRE HAIR CARE, making sure the next menu says Keyword. You should then get the name of the first African-American woman to become a millionaire.