Biography Resource Center - Thrall Databases - Databases & Virtual Reference Resources at Middletown Thrall Library

About Biography Resource Center

This database currently contains biographical entries for hundreds of thousands of notable and historical persons from around the world.

The database is a combination of 1,000+ volumes of Gale reference sources including Contemporary Authors, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Newsmakers, Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Contemporary Musicians, Historic World Leaders, Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists, Contemporary Black Biography, Religious Leaders of America, International Dictionary of Art and Artists, Writers Directory, among others.

In addition to biographical entries, you can access full-text articles from 300+ magazines and newspapers including American History, The Christian Century, Saturday Night, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, and USA Today.

Some entries provide "Further Readings" and web links for even more information on certain individuals in the database.

>> Please click here to access Biography Resource Center.

Access Options:

This database can be accessed from any of Thrall Library's public Internet or research computers.

Concerning access outside the library:

Members of Middletown Thrall Library may log in to this service using their library barcode.

Tips & Special Features:

After the Biography Resource Center database page appears, you will see several options, including: Category Browse, Biographical Facts Search, a "Search by Name" box, an Advanced Search link, and a "Spotlight On" panel featuring one of the many famous people in this database.

You can browse according to these (and other) categories: Actors, African Americans, American Presidents, Ancient Greeks and Romans, Artists, Asian Americans, Athletes, Business Leaders, Current World Leaders, Hispanic Americans, Musicians, Native Americans, Notable Women, Religious Leaders, Royalty, Scientists, Social Reformers, and World Explorers.

The "Biographical Facts Search" lets you find people according to these fields: Occupation, Nationality, Ethnicity, Birth/Death Year, Birth/Death Place, and Gender.

Once you browse or search for an individual and reach the search results page, you will see results arranged under four tabs: Biographies, Brief Biographies, Magazines and News, and Websites. You can click any of these tabs to see if there are any other documents or websites available.

For More Information

Technical Considerations:

Before printing, be sure to click the Printer icon located at the top of a biographical article page. This will reformat the page in a "printer friendly" format, enabling you to print more on fewer pages.

Printing at the library costs $ .20 per page. Please inquire at the Reference Department if you are not sure how to print.

The Biographical Resource Center also allows you to e-mail articles you find to your own e-mail account. To do so, look for the e-mail icon at the top of a biographical article page, click the icon, and carefully enter your e-mail address on the next web page that appears.

There is no cost for e-mailing articles, and you may e-mail as many articles to yourself as you like!