A Resource That Won't Make You Yawn

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Meg McCaffrey -- School Library Journal, 06/01/2003

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Which Apache war leader's Indian name means "One Who Yawns"? Was it John Coltrane's or Miles Davis's music that was likened to "a beautiful nightmare"? Which U.S. Representative was pregnant while defending the life of a convicted murderer?

The answers to these questions—and many more—are found in the American National Biography Online (ANB) site (www.ANB.org). Created by Oxford University Press, the new online resource profiles 18,000 of the famous, infamous, and obscure people who shaped our nation, including leaders from politics, community reform, science, the arts, and other prominent fields.

When ANB was originally published, in 1999, as a 25-volume print edition, the American Library Association awarded it its Dartmouth Medal, given to the best reference work of the year. Those print volumes are now accessible in electronic form. Plus, the information is updated quarterly with more profiles, new articles, and illustrations. For example, the entry on birth control advocate Margaret Sanger features a link to her private papers on New York University's Web site.

ANB 's Web site is a password-protected subscription service; cost is based on the size of the school library, off-site access, and other factors. A free, 30-day trial is available at the site. (The answers to the questions above are Geronimo, John Coltrane, and Bella Abzug.)