[OPLINLIST] Biography Reference Bank -- News and Tips -- March 2011

[Laura Solomon]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Key figures in the Middle East*
	Wilson's *Biography Reference Bank* on WilsonWeb and WilsonWeb Mobile 
continues to be the most reliable and respected resource for educators 
and general readers who want to know more about the people at the center 
of the region's current upheaval.

One such figure is Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, who has ruled Libya with his 
family since 1969. You will find a detailed---and recently 
updated---profile of the Libyan leader in *Biography Reference Bank*, as 
well as suggestions for further reading.

*Search tip:*Not sure of the spelling? Qaddafi's name can be spelled 
several ways. However, WilsonWeb is flexible enough to accept several 
spellings to take you right to the profile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*March means St. Patrick's Day, March 17*
For educators, general readers, and public librarians alike, St. 
Patrick's Day is a good focus point for discussing some of the serious 
issues around Ireland's current financial woes, including the ongoing 
debt crisis, the recent general election, or a new wave of emigration, 
and *Biography Reference Bank* can provide profiles of political leaders 
such as former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, or Charles Haughey, whose 
names are mentioned often in the context of current problems. 	
*Rock Star Bono*

For a more cultural approach to St. Patrick's Day, try searching for 
/Ireland/ in Place of Origin, then choose /Entertainers/, /actors/, 
/singers/, or /authors/ to locate profiles and photographs of some of 
Ireland's most famous people, like Bono, Enya, Lisa Hannigan, Eoin 
Colfer, and Molly Keane.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*"No-one has ever heard of her", except /Current Biography Illustrated!/*


*Esperanza Spalding*

	

When jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding took home the Grammy award for best 
newcomer on February 13, 2011, many people wondered just who she was, 
and many of Justin Bieber's fans were upset by what they saw as a 
surprise win 
<http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/14/hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-belieber-scorned/>. 


However, those who claimed that "no-one has ever heard of her," can't 
have been paying attention to *Current Biography Illustrated*, which 
published a detailed profile of Spalding in 2010. That profile is now 
available in both *Current Biography Illustrated* and *Biography 
Reference Bank* online, so people can learn just who Spalding is using 
either WilsonWeb or WilsonWeb Mobile. The unauthorized post-Grammy 
alterations made to some of Spalding's biographies on the open Internet 
also highlight another major advantage of using Wilson biography 
databases: you can rely on our profiles to be accurate and to contain 
only verified information!

(In the interests of balance, we should point out that *Current 
Biography Illustrated* and *Biography Reference Bank* also added a 
detailed profile of Justin Bieber in 2010.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
**
Alicia Sacramone

<http://www.hwwilson.com/currentbio/cover_bios/cover_bio_03_11.cfm>* 	

*Who's new in Current Biography for March*

Our cover biography this month is gymnast Alicia Sacramone, who won gold 
in the vault competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 
in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on October 23, 2010.

*Journalist Hendrik Hertzberg

<http://www.hwwilson.com/currentbio/cover_bios/cover_bio_03_11_hertzberg.cfm>*

This month you can also see a second featured profile on our website, 
that of journalist Hendrik Hertzberg, a longtime columnist in the New 
Yorker. Hertzberg wrote about the experience of being profiled in his 
/New Yorker/ blog 
<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/hendrikhertzberg/2011/03/all-about-me.html>, 
and praises Wilson biography writer Dmitry Kiper for prioritizing 
relevant biographical details over gossip and innuendo, which is 
something we at Wilson have prided ourselves on for many years.

Remember that these profiles have all been added to *Biography Reference 
Bank* too.

*This month's sample profile *
The featured profile on our website this month is Mark Buehrle, of the 
Chicago White Sox, a left-handed pitcher known for his workmanlike 
approach to the game, superb accuracy, and exceptional defensive talent. 
Check out his profile here 
<http://www.hwwilson.com/newsmakers/ShortBio.cfm>.

*Other new biographies this month include *
Congressman Justin Amash . Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa . Musician 
Bruce Dickinson . Baseball player Bob Feller (obituary) . Filmmaker 
Michael Haneke . Writer Stephen Kinzer . Football player Jason Peters . 
Playwright and actor Wallace Shawn (update) . Dancer Alex Wong
*And many more!*

	

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.oplin.org/pipermail/oplinlist/attachments/20110310/d027b143/attachment-0001.html