Biographical Resources
Baltic Biographical Archive.
Frey, Axel ; Kaegbein, Paul. K.G. Saur, 1995-1998.
U of I Library Call Number: Main Reference Uncataloged. (In the fiche cabinets behind and to the left of the reference desk)
436 fiches.
As with the other K.G. Saur biographical archives on microfiche, they have copied the entries from biographical reference books and cumulated all of the entries for one individual together. Thus, the entries are replicas of the original source with a citation to the original source at the head of each entry. This source is valuable because it eliminates checking numerous books for information and also provides access to sources that the U of I Library may not own. The Baltic biographical archive contains entries for approximately 80,000 individuals from 218 sources published between 1650 and 1993. Entries include many German-Balts as well as Balts living in their native lands or in exile. Depending on the original sources, the entries may or may not have bibliographical references. Beware that sometimes the entries for different people with the same name may be conflated.
You can search for a person listed in the Baltic biographical archive in the World biographical index, which is available for U of I students and faculty through Online Research Resources (Databases). If you are not affiliated with U of I you may want to check with your institution or your local library: it is possible that they provide access to the World biographical index . However its entries contain only brief biographical data, not the actual entries that are on the microfiche. The results of the search will tell you which sets contain entries for the individual and from which reference books they were taken. Beware: Although this archive is a valuable resource, do not be deceived into thinking that use of this source will cover all bases. It is impossible to include all of the biographical resources that exist. If you rely on the Archive alone, you will miss some potentially useful material.
Follow the link for two entries for the pedagogue, Janis Broka, from two different sources as they appear on the microfiche.