Background sources, also known as reference sources, include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other online or print "books". You might want to consult one or more of them when you're first starting your research, especially if the topic you are researching is unfamiliar to you. They can be excellent sources of factual information, concepts, theories, definitions, terminology and references to other, more in-depth, sources of information.
Some examples:
The Oxford Companion to the Book
The Typographic Desk Reference, 2nd ed.
An A-Z of Type Designers
Sagmeister
The End of Print : The Grafik Design of David Carson
In Search of the Miraculous by 
Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design
Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers : The Printer as Designer and Craftsman 1700-1914 by 
The Surface of Meaning : Books and Book Design in Canada by 
Helvetica
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