KEAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Guide
Biography Research Resources
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Circulating Books, Electronic Books, and U.S. Government Documents
To find circulating books, as well as electronic books and U.S. government online documents, on wide-ranging topics
using your key words or ideas:
 Go to the Kean University Library’s home page located at http://library.kean.edu.
 Click Books, E-books, Videos, & More to access the Kean Catalog.
 Type your key words in the search box underneath Find This.
 Click Search.
 Evaluate your search results.
 Make note of the Library Location designation for any titles of interest. A designation of Main Collection means that
the book is a circulating title, while Reference Collection means that the book does not circulate. A designation of
U.S. Government Online Document or Electronic Resource means that the item is available online and may be
accessed by clicking the title, then clicking the hyperlink next to the words Linked Resource.
 Make note of the call number and status for any Main Collection titles of interest. When a Main Collection book’s
Status is Available, this means that the book is not checked out. Circulating titles are located in the Main Collection
on the second and third floors of the Kean University Library.
Reference Books
Listed below are select reference titles provided for quick look-up by call number in the Reference Collection (located on
the first floor of the Library) or in the Reference Collection Annex (located on the second floor of the Library). The first
column displays the reference call number. The second column displays the corresponding title.
Call Numbers
Ref CT 100 .C8
Ref CT 103 .C4 1997 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref CT 103 .E56 1998 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref CT 213 .A68 1999 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref CT 213 .S37 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref DA 28 .D49 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 176 .W64
Ref PN 452 .M88 2004
Ref PN 1861 .C65 2007
Ref PN 2035 .O84 2001
Ref PN 2037 .W725 2004 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref Q 141 .N45 2008
Ref Q 141 .N46 2007
Ref Q 141 .O27 2002
Ref Q 141 .S6285 2003
Ref Q 180.55 .D57 S29 2006
Reference Titles
Current Biography
Chambers Biographical Dictionary
Encyclopedia of World Biography
American National Biography
Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives
Dictionary of National Biography
Who Was Who in America
Multicultural Writers Since 1945
Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama
Acting: An International Encyclopedia
World of Theatre
New Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Latinos in Science, Math, and Professions
International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists
African Americans in Science, Math, and Invention
Science and Scientists
1
Research Databases
To start using the Library’s electronic databases to search for articles on certain topics using your key words, go to the
Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu). Click Articles & More to access the Databases. The databases are organized
in three different lists. In one list the databases are listed alphabetically, and in the other lists the databases are listed by
subject or databases type. Brief directions are provided on the next pages to help you navigate these databases.
Note: When you are off-campus, you will need to log in with your Kean Google username and password after you
click on a database name.
Biography Reference
Bank (H.W. Wilson)










Gale Virtual Reference
Library








Biography Reference Bank provides approximately 500,000 biographies.
To search Biography Reference Bank for biographical information:
Go to the Library’s home page at http://library.kean.edu.
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter B on the alphabetical menu.
Click Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson) (EBSCOhost).
Type a person’s name in the first search box. For instance, type:
Paul Robeson
Click Search.
Result: The first 10 results will be displayed. Results may include links to the person’s
name and/or article titles. Click the person’s name to access links to biographies. Click
article titles to access articles about the person.
If the full-text article is available online for a specific item, you will see one or more of the
following links immediately below the item: HTML Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked
Full Text. Click one of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail located on the right-hand
side of your screen.
If full-text link options are not present, click the TOUR button to check the availability of
full-text for the article in other Kean University Library databases.
To search Gale Virtual Reference Library for encyclopedia and other reference
book articles using your key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page at http://library.kean.edu.
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter G on the alphabetical menu.
Click Gale Virtual Reference Library (Gale Cengage Learning).
Type your key terms in the basic search box. For example, type: billie holiday
Click the magnifying glass icon to run the search.
Result: The first 20 retrieved article titles will be displayed. Examine retrieved items.
Click either the View Text or PDF link immediately below the item to view the full-text
article.
E-mail an article from the View Text option by clicking E-mail toward the top-left corner
of the screen.
2
Facts on File Online
Databases








Literature Resource
Center











Literature Online











To search for articles in one or more of the Facts on File Online Databases,
including African-American History Online, American History Online,
American Indian History Online, American Women’s History Online, Ancient
and Medieval History Online, or Modern World History Online:
Go to the Library’s home page at http://library.kean.edu.
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter F on the alphabetical menu.
Click Facts on File Online Databases.
Click the desired database from the Available Databases list.
Select options from the Browse menu on the left, or type your search terms in the Search
box toward the top right corner of the screen, then click Go.
Search across multiple history databases by clicking Search Other History Databases in the
top right corner of the screen.
Click the checkbox to the left of more than one of the databases listed, then type your
search terms in the Search box and click Go.
To search Literature Resource Center for literary biographies, bibliographies, and/or
critical analyses:
Go to the Library’s home page at http://library.kean.edu.
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter L on the alphabetical menu.
Click Literature Resource Center (Gale Cengage Learning).
Type an author’s name in the search box labeled Author Search. For example, type:
Gabriel García Márquez
Click Search.
Result: Results are displayed for Biographies.
Click the article title links to view the full-text biographical articles.
Alternatively, click the active Literary Criticism, Articles, & Work Overviews tab.
Click the article title links to view the full-text articles.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail located in the upper lefthand corner of your screen.
To search Literature Online for literary works, biographies, and/or critical analyses:
Go to the Library’s home page at http://library.kean.edu.
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter L on the alphabetical menu.
Click Literature Online (ProQuest).
Click AUTHORS located on the left-hand side of your screen.
Type your author’s name in the search box labeled Find Author(s): For example, type:
Dickinson, Emily
Click Search.
Result: Citations will be displayed.
Click the author’s name on the result list.
Click the Biography link to view an “introduction to the author’s life and works.”
E-mail the HTML full-text version of the article by clicking Email Full Text above the
article.
Copyright © 2015, Kean University Library
Updated by Linda Cifelli, September 18, 2015.
3