College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017

INFS 321

Information Sources

Session 5 – Biographical Sources

Lecturer: Prof. Perpetua S. Dadzie, DIS

Contact Information: pdadzie@ug.edu.gh

godsonug.wordpress.com/blog

Session Overview

Slide 2 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Session Outline

Slide 3 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Reading List

Slide 4 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

• 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

Topic One

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Slide 5 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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.

Slide 6 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

to locate supporting material about individual for any number of reasons

iv) to locate possible name for baby.

iii)

Slide 7 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Slide 8 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Slide 9 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

Types of Biographical sources 3

• Current - those which supply information about living persons

• Retrospective - those which are about historical figures

Slide 10 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

Topic Two

CATEGORIES OF SOURCES FOR

BIOGRAPHICAL

INFORMATION Slide 11 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Slide 12 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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

Slide 13 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

Topic Three

SELECTION AND EVALUATION

Slide 14 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

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 puďlisher’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- IŶteƌŶatioŶal Who’s Who, Who’s Who iŶ the Woƌld • 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, • http://www.biography.com/find/find.html

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

(http://www.ipl.org/ref)

• 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 PuďliĐ Liďrary’s ReferenĐe Centre

Types of Directories

Directory, The Foundation Grants Index,

• 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

Types of Directories 2

Directory

• Business Directories The StaŶdaƌd & Pooƌ’s Registeƌ 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

Topic Four

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR

FACT SOURCES

Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS Slide 24

Evaluation

Electronic versions-greater flexibility and ease of use.

• 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;

Important General Sources

Familiar Quotations;

• 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,

Euƌopa Woƌld Yeaƌ Book, The StatesŵaŶ’s Yeaƌ- Book

• Handbooks – The Guinness Book of Records, The Chicago Manual of Style, The MLA Handbook for Wƌiteƌs of Reseaƌch Papeƌs, EŵilLJ Post’s EtiƋuette, The Odžfoƌd DictioŶaƌLJ of QuotatioŶs; Baƌtlett’s

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’ Yearďook

The Yearbook of the Commonwealth Africa South

of the Sahara

Slide 27 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS

References

Katz, A. William (2002) Introduction to Reference, Work Vols. I ch. 9 pp. 343-373

Slide 28 Prof. P.S.Dadzie, DIS