This is an instructional guide for the Ready Reference source known as Marquis Biographies Online.

1. MARQUIS BIOGRAPHIES ONLINE
A Ready Reference Instructional Guide
Presentation by:
Nick Chaney

2. WHAT IS IT?
• Marquis Biographies is an easy to use online biographical database.
• The Marquis Who’s Who in America (the original name of the publication) was first
published in 1899 and has been one of the leading sources in biographical content for the
public.
• Users can search for any notable person through a variety of different fields while using a
number of search criteria and filters.

3. HOW CAN I ACCESS IT?
• Marquis Biographies Online can be accessed by any patron of a library who has a
subscription to it.
• After going to your library’s homepage, look at their electronic resources page for a list of
the services they subscribe to and find Marquis Biographies on the list.
• If you’re unsure as to whether your library holds a subscription to Marquis Who’s Who
Online, be sure to contact them and simply ask. They love to answer questions!

4. WHO CAN I FIND WITH MARQUIS BIOGRAPHIES?
• Alive or deceased
• Actors
• Professional sports player
• Government workers
• Educators
• Lawyers
• Authors
• Medical professionals
• Politicians
• Financial workers
• Scientists
• Engineers
• And much, much more.

5. HOW DOES IT WORK?
• Search for anybody by name or other known information
• Marquis Biographies displays the relevant results in a grid that shows the names of
relevant people and a few other cells of information to help users find their desired
person.

6. HOW TO SEARCH…
• Two main search methods
• Quick search
• Advanced search

7. QUICK SEARCH -- EXAMPLE
• Quick search is for when you already know the person’s name (and maybe one additional
thing about the person that can be added as a keyword).

8. QUICK SEARCH -- RESULTS

9. QUICK SEARCH – FINAL RESULT
• A snapshot of the person’s record:

10. ADVANCED SEARCH -- EXAMPLE
• Advanced search is for when you can’t remember the full name but have some other
information that can help you narrow down your search. Let’s take a popular celebrity
whose name you seem to have forgotten.
• You remember their first name is “Brad” which means you also remember that it is a male
celebrity.
• You know that he has starred in many films.
• You’re fairly certain that at one point he even dated Jennifer Aniston at one point in time…
• Go to the next slide to see what your advanced search would look like!

11. ADVANCED SEARCH – EXAMPLE
• First name: “Brad”
• Keywords: “Jennifer Aniston”
• Occupation: “actor”
• Gender: “Male”
• Click on the search button:

12. ADVANCED SEARCH -- RESULTS

13. ADVANCED SEARCH – FINAL RESULT
• A snapshot of the person’s record:

14. QUESTIONS?
• If you have any questions at all about the use of this resource please do not hesitate to
contact your local library. Visit their webpage for contact information and choose the form
of communication that works best for you.

15. CITATION
• Marquis Biographies Online. (n.d.). Marquis Biographies Online. Retrieved October 27,
2014, from http://search.marquiswhoswho.com