Writing Biography

Course Number:

GLS 592

Instructor:

Bliss, Michelle

We have a wide variety of subjects, so feel free to ask for help in choosing and searching information sources. The sources listed below are general resources that are likely useful for us all.

Articles & eResources

Select additional databases relevant to the subject of your research. For instance, if you are researching the life of a muscian, look at the list of databases by subject. There you will find specialized databases for each discipline, e.g., Music Index Online and RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

Academic Search Complete

Biography Reference Center

Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)

Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)

LexisNexis Academic

News sources, legal documents, company information.

Newspaper Source Plus

Over 700 full-text newspapers, including selected articles from the Wilmington Star News.

WorldCat

The union catalog of libraries worldwide.

Using the Library Catalog

Click here to search the Library Catalog

When searching names in the online catalog and WorldCat, names can be in any order when doing a keyword search. When searching names by author or subject, be sure to put the last name first. Also, consider variations the person may have used, such as full middle name, middle initial, no middle name.

You will also be searching for books on the various activities your subject engaged in. For instance William Randall was in military intelligence during World War II. A keyword search on World War II military intelligence retrieves items that have these subject headings:

World War, 1939-1945 -- Military intelligence -- United States -- History
World War, 1939-1945 -- Secret service -- United States
Intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography
Military intelligence -- United States -- History

Following the links on any of these headings may find relevant resources. Searching these headings in WorldCat will identify materials to request on interlibrary loan.

Primary Sources