Encyclopedias, such as World Book , are good sources for biographical information. The Encyclopedia of World Biography is another very good source for biographies of world figures. Something to remember is that there seems to be an encyclopedia, dictionary, or handbook that covers various subject areas such as art, dance, music, etc. Many of these sources will give some type of biographical information. Dictionary of Literary Biography is the main series title of a large group of books devoted to giving encyclopedia-like information about all kinds of subjects associated with literature, throughout the ages.
Some volumes are devoted to genres, periods, authors, and more.
Usually, this type of source is found in the larger public library or a college setting. Like other indexes, this source will not give you compiled information about the person like what you would find in an encyclopedia. Rather, this multi-volume source provides an extensive alphabetical list of people and sources where you can find information about the specific person that you are looking for. If your library does not have the book, magazine, or journal listed, then ask if your library has an interlibrary loan service. Like any index, this source does not cover all books and magazines but it does lead you to a lot of biographies.