- Enter a person's name or part of a person's name in the Enter a Name search box.
- Select either "Name contains" or 'Start of Last Name.'
- Enter as much of the person's common name as is known. For example entering "John Davis" will retrieve all results that contain that as part of the name.
- Click 'Search.'
ADVANCED SEARCH
- The Advanced Search option allows for searching of more than one field at a time. It is not necessary to use all fields in order to conduct a search.
- Enter search terms in the field or fields of choice.
- Click 'Advanced Search.'
- Enter the full name of the person in the Complete Name search box and select "Name contains" or "Start of Last Name."
- OR
- Enter the person's last name, and/or
- Enter the person's first and/or middle name.
- OR
- Where applicable, enter a prefix or suffix for a person, such as Dr. or Jr.
- When known, enter the birth year. If only the general time period is known, there is an option to switch to "is before"or "is after" a certain date.
- When known, enter the death year. If only the general time period is known, there is an option to switch to "is before" or "is after" a certain date.
- When known, enter a source that the individual may be listed in.
- Use the Free Text box to enter any other information that may be useful and included within the entry, e.g., placename or profession.
SEARCH RESULTS
- The list of search results will be displayed.
- The following parts are found within in a BGMI record: name, years of birth and death (if listed in the original source), number of source citations, and source citations.
- Results listed only contain the citations of biographical sources. There is no full-text available in the database.
- To view a person's name on the list, click the appropriate entry.
- NAMES VARY. Names of persons indexed in this database are entered as they appear in the biographical sources. Search more than one version of the person's name. For example, typing the name "Bill Clinton" may retrieve different listings for the same person (e.g., with or without a middle initial) but will NOT retrieve listings for "William Clinton."
MARK LIST
- Create a specialized list to view, print, or email at the end of a search session.
- Check the box in front of the entries of interest, and click 'Update Mark List.'
- To view the list, click on 'View Mark List.'
PRINT
- To print a document, click on
at the upper left of the document.
- A printable view of the document is displayed. Choose Print from the browser to print the document. Choose 'Back' on the browser to return to the document.
E-MAIL
- To e-mail a document, click on
at the upper left of the document.
- In the box, enter the e-mail address where the document will be sent.
- Choose "Plain Text" or "HTML." Click 'Send.'
- To return to the results list, click 'Back' on the browser.
SAVE
- To save a results list or a specific entry, click 'File—Save As' from the browser's window.
- Insert a disk into the disk drive.
- Save the file to the disk in the A: drive, name the file, and click 'Save.'
OTHER
- To see a list of the biographical sources indexed in BGMI, click on
at the top of the main search page. Click on the title of interest to view full bibliographic information, including which editions of that title are covered.
HELP
- If help is needed, click on
at any time for assistance.
EXIT
To exit the database click 'Home' on the browser bar.