biographical resources
Print Resources
To locate an autobiography or biography in the library, follow these steps:
1. Go to the online library catalog.
2. Click on the "Catalog" tab
3. Type a name, word, or term into the search box
4. Click on the subject button (a subject search provides fewer but BETTER results)
5. Copy the call number of the book you want to find
The library has great biographical resources in the Reference collection:
African American Biographies REF 920 Afr
American First Ladies REF 920 Ame
Encyclopedia of World Biography REF 920 Enc
Great American Writers: Twentieth Century REF 920 Gre V.1
Great Lives from History REF 920 Gre
Great World Writers: Twentieth Century REF 920 Gre V.1
Hispanic American Biographies REF 920 His
World War I Biographies REF 940.3 Pen
World War II Biographies REF 940.53 How
1. Go to the online library catalog.
2. Click on the "Catalog" tab
3. Type a name, word, or term into the search box
4. Click on the subject button (a subject search provides fewer but BETTER results)
5. Copy the call number of the book you want to find
The library has great biographical resources in the Reference collection:
African American Biographies REF 920 Afr
American First Ladies REF 920 Ame
Encyclopedia of World Biography REF 920 Enc
Great American Writers: Twentieth Century REF 920 Gre V.1
Great Lives from History REF 920 Gre
Great World Writers: Twentieth Century REF 920 Gre V.1
Hispanic American Biographies REF 920 His
World War I Biographies REF 940.3 Pen
World War II Biographies REF 940.53 How
electronic resources
LAUSD pays for many subscription-based databases that connect you to accurate and reliable information.
- American National Biography
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- Facts on File
- Gale Database (go to LAUSD's Digital Library and select Gale Database)
- Granger's World of Poetry
- Oxford Art Online
- Oxford Music Online
- Salem Press History
- World Book
internet resources
A. The best way to get to accurate and reliable Internet sources is through the online library catalog.
1. Run a search using the library catalog like you would if you were looking up books.
2. From the results page, select the "Web Sites" tab.
3. Select any website from the list.
1. Run a search using the library catalog like you would if you were looking up books.
2. From the results page, select the "Web Sites" tab.
3. Select any website from the list.
B. The following websites have been hand-selected because of the quality of their information.
Academy of Achievement
Offers biographies, profiles, and interviews of achievers in the arts, business, public service, science and exploration, and sports.
All about Jazz
This comprehensive site includes jazz news, reviews, festivals, interviews, audio downloads, photos, and biographies of over 3600 jazz musicians
American Presidents: Life Portraits
This site presents brief facts about each United States President. You can also search by state or President for landmarks--birthplaces, gravesites, museums, etc.--associated with each President.
Biography
Offical site of A&E's Biography television series. Includes the searchble text of 15,000 entries from The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia.
Discovering American Women's History Online
This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to interviews with women engineers from the 1970s.
Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
A chronological listing of famous composers of Western Music. with accurate birth and death dates and the country of origin. Several of the entries provide links to biographical essays and other sites on the web. Organized by musical period and by composer name.
The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Profiles of past and present African American men and women scientists in the fields of science and engineering.
The First Ladies
Biographies of all the U.S. First Ladies, from the 18th to the 21st century.
The HistoryMakers
The single largest archival collection of interviews with both well-known and unsung African American HistoryMakers.
Information Please Halls of Fame
Biographies Search provides access to more than 30,000 biographical entries from its almanacs, dictionary, and encyclopedia.
Internet Movie Database
The world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
musicianguide.com
Musician personals, awards, and works.
Native American Authors
This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Site is browsable by author, title and tribe.
the-artists.org
the-artists.org features an "extended database of 20th Century and contemporary visual artists.
Top North American Athletes of the Century
Biographies of great athletes of the 20th century as selected and profiled by ESPN as part of the SportsCentury retrospective.
Academy of Achievement
Offers biographies, profiles, and interviews of achievers in the arts, business, public service, science and exploration, and sports.
All about Jazz
This comprehensive site includes jazz news, reviews, festivals, interviews, audio downloads, photos, and biographies of over 3600 jazz musicians
American Presidents: Life Portraits
This site presents brief facts about each United States President. You can also search by state or President for landmarks--birthplaces, gravesites, museums, etc.--associated with each President.
Biography
Offical site of A&E's Biography television series. Includes the searchble text of 15,000 entries from The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia.
Discovering American Women's History Online
This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to interviews with women engineers from the 1970s.
Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
A chronological listing of famous composers of Western Music. with accurate birth and death dates and the country of origin. Several of the entries provide links to biographical essays and other sites on the web. Organized by musical period and by composer name.
The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Profiles of past and present African American men and women scientists in the fields of science and engineering.
The First Ladies
Biographies of all the U.S. First Ladies, from the 18th to the 21st century.
The HistoryMakers
The single largest archival collection of interviews with both well-known and unsung African American HistoryMakers.
Information Please Halls of Fame
Biographies Search provides access to more than 30,000 biographical entries from its almanacs, dictionary, and encyclopedia.
Internet Movie Database
The world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
musicianguide.com
Musician personals, awards, and works.
Native American Authors
This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Site is browsable by author, title and tribe.
the-artists.org
the-artists.org features an "extended database of 20th Century and contemporary visual artists.
Top North American Athletes of the Century
Biographies of great athletes of the 20th century as selected and profiled by ESPN as part of the SportsCentury retrospective.