If you don't find what you need there, try the Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Click "Search By Name" then type your individual's name in the fields provided. It is usually best to do a search for the last name and then try both the full first name or the first initial, since this is often how people are listed. You may need to scroll through the resulting list in order to find all the variations of the person's name. Sometimes, there will be multiple entries with exactly the same name. This may result from publications being uncertain about the person's date of birth. Be sure to try all that look likely.

The entries that you get will direct you to biographical sources. Furman has many of these sources, but not all of them. You can do a title search in ALCUIN for the title of the publication, and ALCUIN will give you the location and call number if we have it.

If there is an entry listed for Contemporary Authors, start there. It is an excellent resource and will probably give you all the infomation you need. If there is an entry listed for any of the Who's Who products, ask at the Reference Desk for the CD-ROM version.

You might also want to try the Biography Index (which will give you citations to journal articles on your person).

For Authors of some standard literary works try Discovering Authors.