Books shelved in Reference often contain collections of biographical essays, organized by ethnic origin, nationality, profession or historical period during which the individual lived. Use the index or table of contents to locate the specific essay on a person.  Titles listed below are some of the SMCC Library reference books that contain biographies.

As digital capability has grown, many of these titles are also included in Reference E-Books, such as Biography Resource Center (BRC), from Gale, or Literature Resource Center (LRC).  Titles denoted with (BRC) are some of the reference books taht are included in this resource.  (Connect to BRC  or LRC off campus.) Tutorial for finding biographical information.

• American Indian Portraits (2000)
  Ref. E 89 .A484 2000
• Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (2001)
  Ref. ML 102 .J3 F39 1999
• Black Women in America (1993)
  Ref. E 185.86 .B542 1993
• Blacks in American Films and Television (1988)
  Ref. PN 1995.9 .N4 B58 1988
• Contemporary Authors (1981-) (BRC)
  Ref. PN 466 C598
• Contemporary Black Biography (1992) (BRC)
  Ref. E 185.96 .C66
• Current Biography (1940-)
  Ref. CT 100 C8 1940-1988 (Also available as ebook)
• Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics (1999)
  Ref. HQ 1236.5.U6 E53 1999
• Extraordinary Black Americans (1989)
  Ref. E 185.96 .A56 1989
• Hispanic American Biography (1995)
  Ref. E 184 .S75 H558 1995
• Hispanic American Voices (1997)
  Ref. E 184 .S75 H564 1997
• Hispanic Hollywood (1993)
  Ref. PN 1998.2 .H34 1993
• International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports (2001)
  Ref. GV 709 .I58 2001
• Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century (1993)
  Ref. N 6502.5 .L38 1993
• Latino Americans (1999)
  Ref. E 184.S75 L3556 1999
• Notable Black American Men (1999) (BRC)
  Ref. E 185.86 .N68 1999
• Notable Black American Scientists (1999) (BRC)
  Ref. Q 141 .N726 1999
• Notable Black American Women (1992) (BRC)
  Ref. E 185.96 .N68 1992
• Notable Hispanic American Women (1993) (BRC)
  Ref. E 184 .S75 N68 1993
• Notable Native Americans (1995) (BRC)
  Ref. E 89 .N67 1995
• St. James Guide to Black Artists (1997) (BRC)
  Ref. N 40 .S78 1997
• St. James Guide to Native North American Artists (1998) (BRC)
  Ref. E 98 .A7 S8 1998

Books that focus on a particular person can be found by searching in the library catalog.  Select the BROWSE - Subject search option, enter the last name, then first name, and click Go.

Find magazine and journal articles about individuals in databases, such as:

• General OneFile (Gale) 
• Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)

To connect to all of these databases, click here.

If you choose to use Google to find web sources from the free web, listen to this tutorial to help you learn how to evaluate this content.

• Biography Center (http://www.biography-center.com/)
• Biography.com (http://www.biography.com/search/)
• In the First Person (http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/index.shtml)
• Infoplease: Biography (http://www.infoplease.com/people.html)

Updated on October 11, 2008.