Getting Background Information
Dictionary of Literary Biography
Use the Dictionary of Literary Biography to look up your author to find a scholarly biographical essay written by experts in the field.
- Dictionary of literary biography This link opens in a new window
Presents career biographies and criticisms of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods. Contains articles on literary authors from throughout the world.
Advanced OneSearch
You can also find background/biographical information in OneSearch by performing a subject search.
You can use OneSearch to find primary sources. You can do a keyword search for the name of the person, but a more focused way to search for biographical sources is to choose "Library Catalog" at the top of the search page, choose "Subject" from the drop down list, and then put the name of the person in the search box in this format "LastName, FirstName" (ex. "Dostoevsky, Fyodor") and then choose "Subject" on the next line and put in the term "Biography".
The results will be all the materials we have in the library that are biographies of that particular person.
Other digital reference databases
If you are still searching for information about your author, needing to find supplemental background information about your work of literature, use some of our other digital reference databases, which include encyclopedias and dictionaries of a wide variety of topics.
- Credo ReferenceIf the Dictionary of Literary Biography doesn't turn up any results for your author, please search Credo Reference, where you may be able to find a good biography from another reference book such as a literary dictionary or encyclopedia.
- Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new windowProvides online access to a significant number of reference works published by Gale. Includes works in all academic subjects, and includes encyclopedias, literary criticism (individual works, authors, and movements/genres), biographical dictionaries, directories, and dictionaries (of events, ideas, and movements). Most entries have the option of being read (includes downloading an MP3 of the computer-voice reading). Gale Cengage.
Advanced OneSearch
You can also use Advanced OneSearch to find other reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopedias) about literature, history, and culture to help inform your background knowledge.
To do so, choose "Subject" and then your topic (or, if you want, you can leave the drop down as "Any Field" to search for your topic as a keyword), and then in the next line, choose "Subject" and put "Encyclopedia" or "Dictionary."
The results of that search brought up these excellent resources:
