The ''World Biographical Information System Online'' (or ''WBIS Online'') is an online database that contains biographical articles from international lexica and

encyclopedias An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

in various languages. Claiming to be "the most comprehensive biographical database available", ''WBIS Online'' is based on a

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

of biographical sources published by K. G. Saur Verlag of

Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

, each covering a continental region, countries or languages or cultural areas and available in digitalized microfiches. The use is free in Germany, people can use the database either in public

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, where they are already registered as a user, or at home after proof of their residence in Germany, free of charge and unlimited.Official Website
retrieved on 2017-10-01.

References

Online person databases International biographical dictionaries