Memorial Day - Honoring Our Soldiers

Photo courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Franciso Public Library

The last Monday in May marks one the most patriotic of American holidays—Memorial Day. On this day, Americans pay tribute, respect, and honor to all soldiers who have fought and sacrificed their lives in war for the United States. To learn more about the origin of this longstanding national holiday:

1. Go to the SFPL Home Page and select “Articles & Databases.” You will need a San Francisco Public Library card to access the databases from outside the Library.

2. Under the Categories side bar on the left, select “Encyclopedias & Dictionaries” then “Gale Virtual Reference Library | (Gale).”

3. Note that you can explore various subject categories such as art, business, education, history, literature, multicultural studies, science, and more. Selecting “History” will present a list of reference works in the history subject category.

4. In the search box, enter the phrase “memorial day.”

5. You will see a list of citations relating to Memorial Day from various specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works.

The Gale Virtual Reference Library contains information drawn from specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, directories, and other reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Browse through a range of topical subject areas or run keyword searches to search within the chapters of these print resources.