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TPA 1380 (Survey of Entertainment Technology): Find Biographies

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Finding Biographies

Who is your career idol? I've always had a soft spot for Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. Whomever you choose to research for your assignment, do a preliminary search first to make sure there is enough information written about your topic. For instance, you'll probably have an easier time finding sources on the actor Matt Damon than you would the librarian Courtney Moore.

If you've never logged on to the library's online catalog and databases, you're in for a real treat. Check out the video to the left for full details. In a nutshell, sign on to Atlas, find the Libraries box and click on Search the Library. This opens the catalog. For the databases, select either Databases A to Z or Databases by Subject.

 

Recommended Database 

Biography (Gale in Context) 

This database contains biographical information about many notable people including actors, directors, musicians, and a whole host of others in the entertainment industry. Here are some of the other reasons I like it: 

  • If your person is famous enough, they will have a topic page with the information divided by format: reference, magazines, journals, newspapers, images, and videos. 
  • If you're not sure who you would like to research, try the Browse People link on the homepage for ideas. 
  • If you are sure about the profession you would like to research but not the person, type the profession in the search box for a list of people. 

 

 

 

The Valencia College libraries do not welcome solicitation of resources to be added to our LibGuides. This includes but is not limited to vendors, search engine optimizers, placement of ads, products, or any other requests. Our LibGuides are carefully curated resources developed in partnership with faculty, staff, and students to support specific assignments, courses, events, and other related purposes at Valencia College. The Valencia libraries reserve the right to ignore LibGuide resource solicitations, and/or block persistent requests from groups or individuals to add or promote links in our LibGuides.