If you have questions about how to access any of these, contact a library . The second step in looking for biographical information is to focus your search. Many biography sources specialize in their coverage. Think about the following factors. Many sources of brief biographies are dedicated to specific subjects, such as writers, scientists, politicians, etc.
Some sources only cover living people, some only dead, some are a mix.
Also think about how long a living person has been famous. The more recent the person, the less likely it is they will appear in reference sources. Magazine articles and the web are probably going to be more useful. Some sources only cover Americans, some only non-Americans. If you want an entire book about a person, you need to use the library s online catalog .