Using Biographical Sources

            A biography is a written account of a person's life.  Some biographical sources simply list essential facts about a person, while others present the facts in a narrative form using complete sentences.  Some sources include a list of bibliographical references which can be used for finding additional information.  Biographical sources can be general or specialized.
 

GENERAL BIOGRAPHIES 

            If you do not know anything about the person, begin with a general biographical source.  Then go to a more specific source based upon the information you learn in the general source.  General biographical sources are also good if you only want a brief identification.
 

SPECIALIZED BIOGRAPHIES 

            If you know something about a person, for example occupation, date, or nationality, you can begin in an appropriate specialized source.  You can continue your search by consulting other sources depending upon what you learn about the person as you go.  Bibliographies included in specialized biographical sources can also be used to find more information.
 

USING THE CATALOG

            To see whether the library has a book about a person, enter the person's name in the search box, then do a subject search.  If you don't get any results, try a keyword search on the person's name.

 GENERAL SOURCES, TO GET YOU STARTED

 R/920/C936       Current Biography.  1940 - present

R/920/M178        McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of  World Biography.  1998.  17 volumes.

R/920.01/In8        The Internatinal Who's Whe.  1974 - present

R/920.02/B52a    Almanac of  Famous People.  2001.