Biography - Selected Sources

This guide is designed to help students begin their research for biographical information at the LAC Library and on the World Wide Web. There are many books written about people. To find these books, start your search with the online catalog. Remember: when you are looking for information about a person, the person is the subject. If you need further assistance, please consult a librarian at the Reference Desk.

Find Reference Books

A few examples of reference books to consult for biographical information are discussed in this handout.

Biographical directories

provide names, professions, vital statistics, family data, education, listings of writings, religion, address, hobbies, awards, etc.
- International Who's Who. Ref CT 120 .I5
  Provides biographical information on on notable people around the world.
- International Who's Who in Education. Ref LA 2301 .I57
  Provides entries on the world's leading educators. It contains representations from many countries and covers all levels of education.
- Who's Who of American Women. Ref CT 3260 .W5
  Provides a biographical dictionary of American women, although notable women from around the world are also included.
- Who Was Who In America. Ref E 176 .W64
  This source contains entries only for deceased people who have made significant contributions.
Biographical indexes

identify articles and books that contain biographical information. These include:
- In Black and White: A Guide to Magazine Articles, Newspaper Articles and Books Concerning More Than 15,000 Black Individuals and Groups. Ref E185.96 I6 1980
  The entries are compiled from various sources including, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, books and the catalogs of libraries with extensive black history collection.
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Ref Z5305 U5 B56
  This is a comprehensive index to thousands of biographical sketches in over 3,000 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures.
- Biography Index. Ref Z5301 B5
  This is a cumulative index to biographical material found in books and periodicals. This index is updated quarterly.
Biographical dictionaries

are a good starting point for brief biographical information or for selecting a person of interest. A few titles are discussed below:
- American National Biography. Ref CT213 .A68 1999
  Scholarly essays by experts, often several pages long, make up this multivolume set. It is considered the most authoritative and famous of all American biographical sources.
- Dictionary of American Biography. Ref E176 C73
  In order to be included in this series, one must have lived in the United States and must have made a significant contribution to American life.
- Dictionary of American Negro Biography. Ref E 185.96 .D53 1982
  This title provides information on blacks from all walks of life, who lived prior to 1970. References to manuscript collections, obituaries, and so on are part of the entry.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography Ref PS243 .A54
  Entries in this series are career biographies.
- Dictionary of National Biography Ref DA 28 .D4 (+ Supplements)
  This reference source includes substantive articles on persons from various countries that have made a contribution to Great Britain. Living persons are not included in this work.
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography Ref Q141 .D5
  This reference source provides information on the history of science (biology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy and earth sciences) by focusing on the professional lives of scientists. Coverage is from classical to modern times. Living persons are not included in this work.
- Great Lives from History series American SeriesRef CT 214 .G74
  The biographical entries in this title include one's contributions and significance.
Specialized Biographical Sources

are sources to consult for specific ethnic or occupational groups.
- New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Ref ML 100 .N48
- Notable Hispanic American Women Ref E184 .S75 N68
- African American writers Ref PS153.N5 A344 2001
- Notable Black American women: book III Ref E185.96 .N68 2003
- Notable Asian Women Ref E184 .O6 N67
- Gay & Lesbian Biography HQ75.2 .G39 1997
- The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States Ref KF8742.A35 O93
Other Biographical Sources
- Current Biography Ref CT 100 .C8
  Provides fact-filled information on individuals. This source also includes obituaries and references for further readings.
- Bloodletters and Badmen: A Narrative Encyclopedia of American Criminals from the Pilgrims to the Present Ref HV 6789 .N3
  Provides information about criminals with "known and proven records ... whose convictions and crimes were never in doubt."
- New York Times Biographical Service Ref CT 120 N45
  Reprints of stories and obituaries from the New York Times.

Find Books & E-Books

The Library's online catalog, Voyager, indexes books, e-books, pamphlets, and other material by subject, author, title, keyword, and call number. Sample searches are listed below.

Biography	[Subject search]
Heroes	[Subject search]
Asian American women biography	[Subject search]

You may also find biographical information by searching the online catalog under an occupational category. Add the word "biography" at the end of the occupation, as in the following examples:

Architects United States biography	[Subject search]
Sports biography	[Subject search]
Political activists United States biography	[Subject search]

If you require more in-depth information on an eminent person, you may locate books about this person on the online catalog. Search for information about someone using the subject search method. Enter the last name, then the first name, as in the examples below:

Chavez, Cesar	[Subject search]
Gandhi, Mahatma	[Subject search]
Lincoln, Abraham	[Subject search]
Mandela, Nelson	[Subject search]

In a keyword search, use quotation marks around a phrase. Use the plus sign (+) to mark required terms:

+renaissance +artists +biography	[Keyword search]
"American women writers"	[Keyword search]

Since LBCC Library has a partnership agreement with CSULB, you may check out books from the University Library. To identify books, search CSULB's online catalog, called Coast, which is accessible over the Web at http://coast.csulb.edu.

Find Articles

The Library subscribes to many online databases, which provide indexing, abstracts, and access to articles, as well as information from reference books and other publications. Passwords allowing off-campus access to the Library's subscribed online databases are available at the Library's Reference Desk.

Some useful databases to try first include:

ProQuest

Magazine, journal and newspaper articles

CQ Researcher

Reports on current and controversial topics

Opposing Viewpoints

Argumentative or persuasive articles and books on current and controversial topics]

FACTS.com

Issues and Controversies database

Newsbank

News articles on current issues

SIRS

Social Issues Researcher

To search most online databases, enter a word, words, and/or specific phrase. You may also use quotation marks to indicate a phrase, and the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT. For example:

civil war AND "women biography"
holocaust AND survivors AND biography

Check in the Library of Congress Subject Headings set (the five large red books on the stand), dictionaries, thesauri and subject-related books for the right words to use.

Find Websites

Use a search engine such as Google (http://www.google.com) when you know the exact terms or names of your topic.

Enter two or more related words, each with a + in front of it to specify your search.
Search for phrases by putting double quotes around two or more words, for example:
+holocaust +biography
"civil war" +biography

Put an asterisk * after the root word to find plurals or other words beginning with the root.

Use subject directories, such as Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com), or Internet indexes, such as Librarian's Index to the Internet (http://lii.org), for browsing or when you are not sure of the terms or names. Indexes lead you from the general subject to the specific sub-topic.

Librarians' Internet Index http://lii.org

a subject directory of librarian-selected Internet resources

Internet Resources on the Library's website http://lib.lbcc.edu/liblink2.html

a topical guide with links to websites for research, including Hot Topics

Most Internet resources are not subjected to peer-review or a rigorous evaluation process; students are advised to evaluate Internet resources before using them. The following Internet evaluation guidelines were compiled by Elizabeth E. Kirk of the Sheridan Libraries of the John Hopkins University and accessible at: http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html

Websites related to biography

Biography.com http://www.biography.com

This is the online destination of A&E's popular, award-winning documentary series, which offers short biographies of famous people, ranging from actors and actresses to political leaders and historical persons.

Lives, the Biography Resource http://www.peoplespot.com/must/lives.htm

The largest guide to posthumous biography sites on the Web, it does not include biographies of people who are still living.

Cite Your Sources

A research paper usually includes a Works-cited list, following a particular documentation style, such as MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association). The print copies of these documentation guides are available at the Library Reference Desk. Guidelines are also available online at these websites:

APA style: http://campusgw.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/apa.html

MLA style: http://campusgw.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/mla.html

The MLA Bibliography composer http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/index.html