This document discusses various types of biographical sources, including biographies, biographical dictionaries, and "Who's Who" type sources. Biographies aim to provide a full narrative account of a person's life that elucidates their character. Biographical dictionaries contain brief entries with critical dates and events for individuals. "Who's Who" sources also contain concise biographical information, with the oldest and best-known being the annual British publication Who's Who. The document outlines some prominent biographical dictionaries and online sources.

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Biographical Sources
Getting up close and personal . . .

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2
The genre
• biography
– A carefully researched, relatively full narrative
account of the life of a specific person or
closely related group of people, written by
another. The biographer selects the most
interesting and important events with the
intention of elucidating the character and
personality of the biographee and placing the
subject’s life in social, cultural, and historical
context. An authorized biography, written with
the consent and sometimes the cooperation of
its subject, may be less critical than an
unauthorized biography.

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But is it the truth?

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Types of biographical sources
http://www.upiselib.net/biogphy.html

5. Retrospective sources: 5
Distinguished, but extinguished
• American National Biography
– The landmark American National
Biography offers portraits of more
than 18,700 men and women -- from
all eras and walks of life -- whose
lives have shaped the nation. More
than a decade in preparation, the
American National Biography is the
first biographical resource of this
scope to be published in more than
sixty years.

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Biographical dictionaries
• What is a biographical dictionary?
– All biographical dictionaries consist of an
alphabetical arrangement of surnames
containing the critical dates and events
associated with the named individuals included
in the dictionary. Biographical dictionaries can
be compiled along general lines or restricted to
specific occupations, professions (Artists,
Musicians etc), or some other characteristics
that the contents of a given dictionary share
(dictionaries of women for instance or winners
of Nobel prizes).

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Who’s who-type sources
• Who’s Who
– Who’s Who (or "Who is Who") is the title of a number of
reference publications, generally containing concise
biographical information on a particular group of people.
– The title "Who’s Who" is in the public domain, and
thousands of Who’s Who compilations of varying scope and
quality have been published by various authors and
publishers. The oldest and best known is the annual British
publication Who’s Who, a reference work on contemporary
prominent people. However, many publications using the
title are vanity publications, where the inclusion criterion is
the biographee's willingness to buy the book, with the
business model consisting of selling books directly to the
biographees. These are widely considered to be scams.

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The original
•
http://www.ukwhoswho.com

9. The main US publisher of Who’s
9
Who dictionaries
•
– The family of Marquis Who’s Who
publications presents unmatched coverage
of the lives of today's leaders and achievers
from both the United States and around the
world, and from every significant field of
endeavor. Librarians, students, researchers,
corporate executives, journalists, personnel
recruiters, and many others rely on
Marquis Who’s Who every day for in-depth
biographical information they can use with
confidence.

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Online Biographical Dictionaries
•
– S9.com is a Wikipedia type system and
everyone can edit biographies or even create
their own.

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http://www.biography.com/

12. Backdrops: 12
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