"We can get background material on each, I would think."

They are not simply background materials for your preparation, but guide what sort of essay will result.

Each book will be 80 to 96 pages, including background material on the subject's era.

In addition, background materials and any references to previous work are usually excluded.

I can cut them pretty quickly, from the basic background material.

There wasn't much which could be used, but it was good background material.

The turning point only came when the enemy had captured all the background material.

Or will it be sufficient to include background material as appropriate?

The study will, of course, provide good background material for our work.

I also wonder why the background material is still marked secret.