To search for books about a particular person using the online catalog search for the person's name in the Medical Subject Headings (MESH). Choose MeSH Subject search. Type the person's name - last name first.

holmes oliver wendell

fleming alexander

Hit return (Enter)

Choose the number next to the person's name in the alphabetical list.

To search for biographical works, do a Keyword search on the subject with the heading, "biography".

science united states biography

or type the subject and the word biography in a keyword search

nurses biography

Connect to the online catalog.

Searching databases for biographical information

Usually biographical articles and obituaries will mention the name of the person being discussed in the title of the article. In most databases in Dykes library you can search for the person by typing the following at the find prompt:

florence nightingale(ti)

Though most biographical articles and obituaries will mention the person's full name some will include a middle name or initial, and a few may use initials for the first name. If the last name is unusual you may search for only that name:

nightingale(ti)

Most databases include some indication that the citation is to a biographical article or obituary : by publication type, document type, descriptor, etc. This varies by database.

In MEDLINE, historical articles and obituaries are indicated by a biographical publication type (pt). For biographies of people who died in the current or preceding year the publication type is: Current-biog-obit. For biographies published two or more years after the person's death the publication type is: Historical-biography. An example of using these publication types for a search in which the first search statement (#1) was for the person's name in the title is:

1 and historical-biography(pt)

CINAHL uses the word biography or obituary in the publication type (pt) field:

1 and biography(pt)

PsycLit uses the word biography, autobiography, or obituary in the descriptor (de) field:

1 and biography(de)

Searching print indexes for biographical information

Most print indexes list biographical articles in the author indexes. In some indexes these articles will be indicated by putting the subject of the article's name in parenthesis. Index Medicus and International Nursing Index indicate biographical articles in this way. If you have any question about how an index handles obituaries read the descriptive information in the front of the book or at the beginning of the author index.

Requesting an Intermediated Search by a Librarian

All of the reference librarians at Archie Dykes Library are trained to conduct intermediated searches for people who do not want to do their own searches or who do not have access to the library database system. Librarians can search databases on the library database system or they can search additional online databases.

Charges for searches vary depending on the database, and your affiliation with Kansas University, the Kansas University Regents system, or the state of Kansas. In-house database searches usually involve a fixed fee. Charges for searches of databases at remote sites will depend on the length of the search, the cost of the database and the amount of the retrieval. Librarians can give estimates but cannot guarantee the exact cost. If you want the cost to be limited let the librarian know the maximum amount that you can pay.

To request a search contact a librarian at the reference desk or by calling (913) 588-7166. The librarian will discuss your topic with you, suggest appropriate databases, and give you an estimate of the cost and when the search will be completed. On-campus users may also request a literature search by filling out a search request form. Searches are usually completed within two working days of the request. There is an additional charge for a rush search which will be completed within four hours. Rush requests must be placed in person or by phone, not by online form.

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