using biography resource center biography resource center (biorc) is a comprehensive database of...

Using Biography Resource Center

Biography Resource Center (BioRC) is a comprehensive database of biographical

information on over 335,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.

It combines more than 422,000 biographies as well as more than 24,700

images, in-depth coverage of key events, and up-to-date reporting that can be found in

magazines.


Begin your research in BioRC on the JCC Library home page.

Click on this link.

Click here.


BioRC is provided by JCC

Library’s partner

institution, the Jackson

District Library (JDL)

Click on the link to

log on.


You will need an active JCC/JDL library card to use this resource.

If you are using a computer that is not part of the JCC network, you will not be able to link directly to Biography Resource Center.

If this is the case, log onto the Jackson District Library web site to begin your research: http://www.jackson.lib.mi.us/


From the JDL

web site,

begin using BioRC in this link.


The Databases page will display.

You may wish to

familiarize yourself with the

resources available on this page.


Click to begin your

research.


Use the barcode number

from your JCC/JDL

library card,

and the PIN you

selected when you got your

card.


Get familiar with the

features on the home

page.

It is also often useful to any new searcher to explore the

topics available in

the Help files.


Take some

time to browse

the Help

topics.

Searching Biography Resource Center

There are several ways of searching. With

a dataset as vast as BioRC, search paths

geared toward specific interests are essential to locating desired

information. The following search paths offer the user

various approaches to

discovering biographical

information:


Name Search

Biographical Facts Search

Advanced Search


Name Searchlooks for an

individual whose name

corresponds to what is entered into the search

field, whether you type a full

surname, the first name and last name in any

order, or just the beginning portion

of a surname.


Biographical Facts Search

looks for people based on one or more personal facts such as

birth and death years and

places, nationality, ethnicity,

occupation, or gender.


Advanced Search enables you to perform searches using name, keyword, source, full text,

date of magazine

publication, and document

number as a search criteria.


Let’s conduct a

sample Name Search using a name

recently in the news. Enter the name and click on Search.


A user has two options when doing a Name

Search. Searching by

Name contains allows you to

type a full name or any word or combination of words known to be part of the

person's name.


Searching by the Start of

last name will yield less

precise results than searching by a first and last name.


For example, searching on bon

will return a results list that contains Bono, as well as Bonaventure, Surya Bonaly,

Bobby Bonilla, and many others.

If only one name is found to match

your search, BioRC will take you

directly to the main tabbed

results page for that name.


A page of results will display. A set of tabs is

shown, depending on the amount of

content available on a specific

person. If your search does not find any results

for a specific data type, the

tab will be "grayed out" and

will not work.


Click on the blue article

titles to open an item.

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see additional pages of results.


If you are using Magazine

Articles results, you will see the bibliographical

information about the article, followed by the

full text. Skim the article to see if it suits

your need.


If the article is useful to you, you

can print it out, mark it for later

handling, or email it.

Choosing Print will reformat the item for printing.

Use the Back button to return to your search

results.


Some searches

will provide more

information than just magazine articles.


In this sample search, notice

that the Narrative

Biographies tab is on top. These lengthy items are shown as links. Mousing over the

other tabs will show in green

which are active and ready for use.


Sometimes the name you enter

is not the “official” name. The system will find both your entry and the name that it’s indexed under.


The Biographical Facts Search feature allows you to perform

highly targeted

searches to identify

individuals who match

certain search criteria.


The search interface is

flexible, allowing you to

select one, multiple, or all terms on the

page for searching.


Select the name that matches

your need.


An Advanced Search enables you to perform

searches using the following criteria: name, keyword, source, full text,

date of publication, and document number. It will

return thumbnail biographies,

narrative biographies,

magazine articles, and websites that match the search

limiters you specify.


Here is a sample

Advanced Search. You have

options for each term you

select, and additional

ways to clarify your search.


Your Advanced

Search results will display.Work with

them as you did for a Name

Search.


A useful link for

researchers is

provided at both the top and

the bottom of the home page.


The Research

Guide walks you through

the biographical

research process,

helping you to achieve a better result.

Consider using this guide

before you search.


Please contact a Reference Librarian for help or guidance

while using BioRC:Phone 517-796-8622

Email Fax 517-796-8623

Visit the Library in Walker Hall


Atkinson Library

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