Humans have a natural instinct to know about others. If it is a famous person, then the interest increases even more. Therefore, the culture of recording the biographies or life histories of wise, virtuous and famous people has been going on since ancient times. Especially the biographies of prophets, apostles, priests, religious leaders are considered as a guide to the path of life. When considered from this perspective, the need for biographical information is immense. Its role in the formation of a civilized society is immense.
Biographical information is available from various sources. It can be obtained from sources such as encyclopedias, almanacs, biographical dictionaries, guides, dictionaries, handbooks and manuals, newspaper columns, etc. Among all these sources of information, biographical dictionaries are the only important source in this regard.
According to Louis Shores, a bibliographical dictionary is “essentially a directory of notable persons, usually arranged alphabetically by surname, with bibliographical identification that ranges from brief outline to extended narrative.”
Biographical dictionaries are usually arranged alphabetically. It is natural for the amount of information presented in different biographical dictionaries to vary. Some dictionaries present brief information, while others may present a lot of information, using several pages for a famous person. A biographical dictionary can present information about a person’s full name, date of birth, place of birth, educational details, significant contributions, details of publications, if any, etc. Basically, an attempt is made to briefly describe all his activities from birth to death so that a reader can get an idea or know about him. A biographical dictionary can present descriptive, critical and evaluative information. Sometimes references are also given so that the reader can know more information.
Types of Biographical Sources:
Biographical sources can be roughly divided into
1. Universal or general
2. National or regional
3. Specific
1. Universal or general: Biographical dictionaries that are not limited to people of a particular country, state or profession—,that is, they include people of all countries, states and professions—are called universal or general biographical dictionaries.
For example: Chambers Biographical Dictionary
2. National or regional: National or regional biographical dictionaries include biographies of famous people from a particular state, country or region.
For example: Who’s Who in Africa
3. Specific: Specific biographical dictionaries include biographies of famous people from a specific category or profession.
For example: Biographical Dictionary of Scientists; A Directory of Librarians and Information Scientists
The above three types of biographical dictionaries can be further subdivided as follows:
A. Dead and living persons;
B. Living persons;
C. Dead persons
In addition to the three types of biographical dictionaries discussed above, the following two types of biographical sources can be found;
a .Biography;
b .Memoirs
Characteristics of biographical sources:
In order to get biographical information quickly, it is important to have proper knowledge about biographical sources. It is necessary to know the characteristics of all these publications. The characteristics of biographical sources are mentioned below:
1. An international biographical dictionary is biased towards the country from which it is published. That is, it gives priority to that country and includes relatively more people.
2. National biographical campaigns usually contain much more information than international biographical dictionaries. A specific biographical dictionary contains more information than other sources.
3. Biographical dictionaries present more information on more famous people than on less famous people. Usually, more paper is used for famous people.
4. A good biographical dictionary presents descriptive and cumulative information.
5. Biographical information is also available in encyclopedias, directories or almanacs. However, in comparative terms, more information about a famous person is presented well in biographical dictionaries. It is best to use a biographical dictionary to find this biographical information.
Scope: The scope of biographical sources is very wide and important. The name, parents’ names, lineage, date of birth and death of the person included in the biographical sources and especially in the biographical dictionary are mentioned. In addition, the educational qualifications of the famous person, social activities, professional details, significant contributions, and why the person is memorable and worthy of mention may be mentioned. Sometimes critical and descriptive information is collected about the evaluation of the person concerned. Basically, the biographical dictionary discusses the entire history of a person from birth to death. According to experts, the scope of the biographical dictionary is very wide.
Evaluation:
Evaluation of biographical sources or biographical dictionaries, unlike other reference books, is very important. The library should collect biographical dictionaries after evaluating them fairly and accurately. A biographical dictionary can be evaluated as follows:
1. Authority:
Authority refers to legal power or authority. Those on whose initiative the biographical source or dictionary is written, printed or published are basically identified as the authorities of the respective dictionary. It is important to consider whether the author or writer and the editorial board have previous experience, their educational qualifications, and reputation. It is also important to see whether the work has been completed impartially. The quality and technique of writing should be considered. Whether all famous people have been included in the compilation and what are the criteria for inclusion should be analyzed.
2. Scope:
The scope of biographical sources is very wide. It is important to analyze whether the purpose of the biography will be implemented, that is, how much coverage of the subject matter has been given. It is important to analyze the accuracy of the information included.
3. Subject selection: How the subject, that is, the famous people have been selected is important. The criteria for subject selection must be described properly. Whether any particular country or region has been given priority in the selection of famous people in international biographies must be analyzed.
4. Structure of writing: What is the type of information included? Is it just a description of life events or is it presented in an evaluation that is important. If an evaluation is given, it is beneficial for the reader. Therefore, this aspect must also be taken into consideration.
5. Format:
What is the format? If the format is wrong, users will not be able to find any specific topic. Therefore, it is imperative that the format is accurate. This aspect must be analyzed.
6. Structure and size: Check carefully whether the titles and sub-titles are clear, whether the binding is of good quality, whether the type is legible, whether good quality paper has been used, etc.
7. Special features: It is important to consider whether the biographical source has special features. It is important to consider whether it is similar to other biographical sources, whether the information included is accurate, whether it is illustrated in a special case, whether it is contemporary, etc. These aspects can be noticed when reading the introduction. If the biographical source is evaluated according to the above description, it is hoped that it will be possible to purchase the right book. The reading community will be benefited. The library will be able to reach the threshold of success. Therefore, the reference librarian must evaluate the biographical festival systematically and skillfully in the light of experience.
