Introduction
Biographical information
identifies individuals who have had a significant influence on a
particular field and documents their work and qualifications.
The strategy for locating biographical information will depend on
whether you already have a person's name or whether you are trying
to identify names by occupation, ethnic group, gender, and so on.
Case 1: Researching Known Names
Step
1. Decide how much information you need. If
you want a lot of material, search for full-length biographies in the library's
online catalog. Full-length biographies are usually available only for
more notable persons. Shorter articles or bio-sketches on a particular
person can best be located by using a biographical database as explained in
Step 2.
Step
2. Use biographical databases to find
sources of biographical information on a particular individual. Enter
the person's name in the following databases available from Stewart Library's
Web site. Biographical databases may list only references to sources of
the biographical information or provide the biographical information itself.
To determine if a source is available in the library, check the library's
catalog.
Literature
Resource Center (full text articles on over 90,000 authors
with additional sources listed)
Biography
Reference Bank (More than 46,000 full-text
profiles of authors, artists, politicians, and more. Covers ancient
world to the present)
Case 2: Finding Names
Step 1.
Identify possible categories or parameters to which the person(s) may be associated
such as gender, occupation, ethnic group, geographical region, etc.
Step 2. Using the "General
Keyword" search option in the library catalog, search for sources
of biographical information which match the desired parameters. The
following examples of keyword search statements illustrate the use of the
parameters suggested in Step 1. Note that each statement has two parts, parameter
or category (e.g. WOMEN, BLACKS), and form (BIOGRAPHY).
WOMEN AND BIOGRAPHY
SCIENCE AND BIOGRAPHY
BLACKS AND BIOGRAPHY
SPORTS AND BIOGRAPHY
Case 3: Combination Search
The following online
databases can be used to research known names (Case 1) or find names of individuals
by occupation, gender, etc. (Case 2):
Michigan
eLibrary (MeL) (mel.org/index.jsp). Click "Reference
Desk" and then "Biography"
Public
Pioneer-Biography (http://pioneer.utah.gov/biog.html)
Biography
Reference Bank (from "Database Finder"
on the library home page)
NOTE: Much biographical
information may be found on the Internet by using the various search
engines such as Google.com, Yahoo.com, etc.
American Men and Women of Science
(REF Q 141.A474)
American National Biography (REF CT 213.A68)
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (REF ML 105.B16,
Ref. Table 3A)
Biography Index (REF CT 100.B5)
Contemporary Authors (REF Z 1224.C6)
Current Biography (REF CT 100.C8)
Dictionary of American Biography (REF E 176.D56)
Dictionary of Art (REF N31.D5, Reference Table 3A)
Dictionary of Literary Biography (REF PS 221.D5)
Dictionary of National Biography (REF DA 28.D54)
Dictionary of Scientific Biography (REF Q 141.D5)
Directory of American Scholars (REF LA 2311.D57)
Encyclopedia of World Biography (REF CT 103.E56)
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (REF ML 100.N48,
Ref. Table 3A)
Notable American Women (REF CT 3260.N57)
Something About the Author (REF PN 451.S6)
Webster's Biographical Dictionary (REF CT 103.W4)
Who's Who in America (REF E 176.W642)
Women in World History (REF HQ 1115.W6)
Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com)
Biographical
Dictionary (www.s9.com/biography/search.html)
Biography.com
(www.biography.com)
Family Search (www.familysearch.org)
Librarians'
Index to the Internet - People (www.lii.org/search/file/people)
Literature
Resource Center (http://library.weber.edu/articledatabases)
Michigan eLibrary (Mel)
(http://mel.org/index.jsp) Click on "Reference Desk"
and then "Biography"
Public Pioneer
- Biography (http://pioneer.utah.gov/biog.html)
Biography
Reference Bank (from "Database Finder"
on the library home page)
Research Tips