Electronic Resources

Readers are urged to consult the Library's listing of electronic resources for an up to date list. To access these databases, you must use one of the public computers located in the Library. Many of our reading rooms have dedicated computers to electronic resources, with the majority of them located in the South Hall of the Rose Main Reading Room.

The following databases are particularly useful:

American National Biography offers portraits of more than 17,400 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation. Conceived as the successor to the Dictionary of American biography. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index, an index to biographical listings in English-language biographical dictionaries, subject encyclopedias, and related works for over 12.7 million people. The listings often provide birth and death years, as well as giving the source of the biographical listing, publisher, year of publication, and other pertinent data.

Biography Index, an index to English-language biographical material appearing in books, magazines, and selected newspapers. It indexes interviews, obituaries, biographical novels, poetry, and juvenile literature, as well as current book-length and collective biographies.

Biography Resource Center, database of biographical information on more than 150,000 individuals from all parts of the world; the information is taken from standard biographical resources, many of which are available also in print format at the Library.

Literature Resource Center, includes biographical and biocritical information on writers from all times and places; it is related to several print resources, including Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.

New York Times Online Current and Backfile (Proquest) These 2 electronic databases provide the full text of The New York Times from its founding in 1851 through the present; since the access is via keyword, the researcher is able to gather information about a person (e.g., news article, obituary, paid death notice, etc.) by simply entering that person’s name.

World Biographical Index, a compiled index to biographial archives containing about 2.4 million entries for individuals in the Western world. The entry for each persons includes years of birth and death, occupation, quoted source, and bibliographic information about the sources used.