INFS 321

Information Sources

Session 5 – Biographical Sources

Lecturer: Prof. Perpetua S. Dadzie, DIS

Contact Information: pdadzie@ug.edu.gh

College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2014/2015 – 2016/2017
 Session Overview
At the end of the session, the student will be able to :
• State what biographical sources are
• Indicate their usefulness
• State the types of biographical sources
• Indicate their evaluation criteria

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 2

 Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Topic One : Definition and uses of Biographical
• Topic Two : Categories of sources for Biographical
Information
• Topic Three : Selection and Evaluation Process

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 3

 Reading List
• Cassell K.A & Hiremath, U. (2013) Reference and
information services in the 21st century: an
introduction. 3rd ed. New York: Neal-Schuman
Publishers. Chapter 11

• Kumar, Krishan (2006) Reference Service 5th ed.

Delhi: Vikas Publishing House; Chapter 14

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 4

 Topic One

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

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 Definitions
Biography: Written life of a person
• most popular fields of study providing information,
inspiration and entertainment.
• Biographical information can be obtained from
almanacs, biographical dictionaries, dictionaries,
directories, encyclopedias, literary handbooks and
manuals, obituary columns of newspapers.
• Out of above, biographical dictionaries is most
important single source of biographical
information.
Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 6
 Uses & Characteristics

i) to locate information on a person which

can de done through index, encyclopedia,
directory
ii) to locate people who are famous in given
occupation, career or profession
iii) to locate supporting material about
individual for any number of reasons
iv) to locate possible name for baby.
Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 7
 Types of Biographical sources
Two basic types - direct and indirect
Direct - provide information itself, rather than
referring user through bibliographic citations
to other sources
• may offer brief, basic biographical data
(Who’s Who )
• may provide lengthy biographical essays
about individuals (Current Biography)
• Biographical directories- brief data about
individuals
Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 8
 Types of Biographical sources 2
• Biographical dictionaries- offer more detailed
information, often in essay form
Indirect - list bibliographic citations leading user to
other works
• These sources are indexes to other sources
(Biography Index )
In addition to being direct or indirect –
• may be further divided into Current &
Retrospective

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 9

 Types of Biographical sources 3
• Current - those which supply information about
living persons
• Retrospective - those which are about historical
figures

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 10

 Topic Two

CATEGORIES OF SOURCES FOR

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 11

 Categories of sources for Biographical
Information
• Biographical dictionaries – lists and
identifies notable persons giving
significant data about them
• Almanacs- brief biographical entries
providing sufficient information for
identification of person concerned
• Dictionaries
• Directories – telephone, occupational
brief information consisting of full
name, address, designation of
Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 12

individual
 Categories of sources for Biographical
Information 2
• Encyclopedias- useful sources for
notables who no longer alive
• Literary handbooks and manuals,
• Obituary columns of newspapers
• history books
• Books of essays or criticisms
• Periodical and newspaper indexes – for
searching current profiles
Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 13
 Topic Three

SELECTION AND EVALUATION

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 Selection Process
• based on needs of a specific library and its user
groups
• amount of money library can allocate to reference
materials
• uniqueness of information provided by particular
tools.
 Evaluation Criteria
• Accuracy - two sources for verifying information on
biographical sources - biographees themselves and
writings about those individuals (secondary sources).
• biographees approach has been criticized because
the latter are asked to fill out publisher’s standard
form and return to publisher.
• Accuracy of entry depends entirely on thoroughness,
honesty of individual who filled out the form.
• Librarians when faced with conflicting facts from
biographical sources can consult other sources to try
to determine the truth.
 Evaluation Criteria 2
• Other criteria (Refer to earlier notes on those
criteria).
• Authority
• Scope
• Comprehensiveness
• References
• Audience
• Format
 Important General Sources
• Current Biographical Directories- International Who’s
Who, Who’s Who in the World
• Current Biographical Dictionaries – Current
Biography, Newsmakers, Contemporary Authors
• Retrospective Biographical Dictionaries :Universal :
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography,
Dictionary of Scientific Biography,
• Retrospective Biographical Dictionaries : Dictionary
of National Biography
• Indirect Sources : Biography and Genealogy Master
Index, Almanac of Famous People, Biography Index
• Obituaries – The New York Times Obituaries Index,
The Annual Obituary,
 Activity
Visit any library and examine this source
• The International Who’s who
 Selection Process for Directories
• Based on community, location of the library, budget
and cost of the various directories.
• Electronic options Another consideration for
selection- eg. CDROM, online database, or a free
database on Internet.
• Electronic source - more current information than
their print counterparts.
• Allows keyword searching.
• Ability to combine fields or terms using Boolean
logic.
 Selection Process for Directories 2
• Cost involved for hardware, software and online
service charges.
• Need to weigh issues against advantages of speed
and the currency of information accessed.
• Directories free on Internet- Affects which
directories are selected for purchase for reference
collection.
• Provide a link at public terminals to a free directory
on Internet and cancel order for a print version.
• Yahoo (http://dir.yahoo.com/reference.
• Internet Public Library’s Reference Centre
(http://www.ipl.org/ref)
 Types of Directories
• Directories of Directories Directories in Print,
International Directories in Print, Organizations
Master Index
• Library Directories Directory of Special Libraries and
Information Centres,
• Publishing and Book Trade Directories Literary
Market Place
• Education/Research Directories The World of
Learning, Commonwealth Universities yearbook
• Foundations and Grants Directories The Foundation
Directory, The Foundation Grants Index,
 Types of Directories 2
• Business Directories The Standard & Poor’s Register
of Corporations, Directors and Executives, Surf
Publications
• Association Directories - Questions about addresses,
telephone numbers etc Encyclopedia of
Associations: National Organizations of the US
• Government Directories -. Worldwide Government
Directory, Washington Information Directory
• Telephone and Fax Directories - to find names,
addresses etc Ghana Telephone Directory
• Facsimile transmission devices (fax machines) The
AT&T Toll-Free 800 Directory, The National Fax
Directory
 Topic Four

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR FACT

SOURCES

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 24

 Evaluation
• Authority – reputation of publisher, editor , compiler
• Scope – purpose of work, year of coverage, Currency
– Fact books should be continually updated,
comprehensive within their stated scope
• Accuracy – Test accuracy by reading reviews written
by knowledgeable reviewers, compare data in
different sources
• Indexing – index should be helpful, accurate and
internally consistent in style
• Uniqueness - always a certain amount of overlap in
reference collections
• Format - should be organized in a logical manner;
Electronic versions-greater flexibility and ease of use.
 Important General Sources
• Almanacs – The World Almanac and Book of Facts ,
Information Please Almanac, , The Weather Almanac,
Information Please, 1999. Available [Online]:
<http://www.infoplease.com/
Yearbooks – Britannica Book of the Year, Facts on
File, Europa World Year Book, The Statesman’s Year-
Book
• Handbooks – The Guinness Book of Records, The
Chicago Manual of Style, The MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers, Emily Post’s Etiquette,
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations; Bartlett’s
Familiar Quotations;
 Activity

Visit any library and examine the following:

Directory: The Europa World of Learning
Almanac: The World Almanac and World of Learning
Yearbooks: The Statesmans’ Yearbook
The Yearbook of the Commonwealth
Africa South of the Sahara

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 27

 References

Katz, A. William (2002) Introduction to Reference,

Work Vols. I ch. 9 pp. 343-373

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