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Library Home |
| Good Places to Start: | Other Useful Resources: |
| Online Book Review Databases
specialized indexes covering only reviews |
Subject-specific databases
coverage of literature in specific disciplines |
| General databases
providing the full-text of numerous book reviews |
Electronic journals
full-text of scholarly journals, including reviews |
| Book Review Indexes in Print
especially useful for books published prior to 1980 |
Free web sites
including the full-text of reviews |
| Finding Book Reviews Handout
PDF file listing key resources |
Book Review Periodicals
Journals & magazines which publish only book reviews |
These specialized indexes provide citations to book reviews published in key journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Searchable index to 4 million reviews published in over 650 key journals and magazines.
Dates covered: 1965 - present
Getting the text: Use Find It! and/or search the Library Catalog to see if the library has the source of the review.
Book Review Digest Retrospective
Searchable index to 1.5 millions reviews published in 500 core journals and magazines.
Dates covered: 1905 - 1982
Getting the text: Book Review Digest includes the summaries of many reviews. Use Find It! and search the Library Catalog to see if the library has access to the source of the full review.
General Databases (Recommended for Book Reviews)
Includes the full-text of 700,000 reviews and citations to 500,000 more published in 3000 journals and magazines from 1985 – present.
Under Advanced Search, limit under "Document Type" to "Book Reviews."
Includes 900,000 "reviews", including summaries from Publisher’s Weekly or excerpts of reviews from review publications, such as Choice. The "review" appears in the full-record under "Abstract."
Under Advanced Search, Limit to: Availability - "Review."
Includes full-text of 1.2 million reviews from academic journals, most published before 2004.
Under Advanced Search, limit by Type: "Review."
LexisNexis Academic Search info
Full-text of 100,000 music, drama, and book reviews published in 18 key publications from 1990 – present.
Select "News," "Arts & Sports." Source: Book, movie, music & play reviews.
Includes full-text of 200,000 book reviews.
Under Advanced Search, More Search Options, Document type: Review – Book Review.
Includes citations to 100,000 book reviews published in popular magazines from 1984 to the present. Use Find It! or search the Library Catalog to find the source.
Under Advanced Search, Limit To: Record Type Phrase - "Book Review."
Includes citations to 32,000 book reviews published in popular magazines from 1890 to 1982. Use Find It! or search the Library Catalog to find the source.
Under Document Type, choose "Book Review."
These specialized indexes provide citations to book reviews published in key periodicals. Supplementing the online book review and general databases, they are especially useful for books published before 1980.
Getting the text: If you find a citation to a review in a print index, note the name of the journal that contained the review, and check the Library Catalog to see if the library holds that source.
Book Review Digest (1905 - present)
Note: Volumes covering 1905 through 1982 are also available online.
Library Reference Collection: REF. AI3 .B66x
Book Review Index (1965 - present)
Note: Also available online.
Library Reference Collection: REF. AI3 .B663x
Children’s Book Review Index (1964 - 1985)
Library book stacks (third floor): Z1037 .A1 C4754 1985)
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals (1886 - 1974)
Library Reference Collection: REF. AI 3 .666x
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities (1960 - 1990)
Library Reference Collection: REF. Z1037 .A1 C4754 1985)
New York Times Book Review Index (1896 - 1970)
Library Reference Collection: REF. AP2 .N658
Nineteenth Century Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Library Reference Collection: REF. AI3 .R38x
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Note: Volumes covering 1890 through 1982 and 1983 to the present are also available online.
Library Reference Collection: REF. AI3 .R4
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Tip for Using the Print Indexes:
Search the WorldCat database to retrieve any missing information. In the pint indexes, you may need to look at the volumes covering the year preceding or following the year the book was published. |
Subject Databases (Listing Book Reviews)
Research databases frequently provide to citations to book reviews along with scholarly research articles.
Getting the text: If the full-text of a cited review is not immediately available in the database, use the Find It! service to see if the library has access to that source.
ABI/INFORM (business)
Full-text of 50,000 book reviews, mostly in business and economics
Under Advanced Search, More Search Options, Document type: Review – Book Review.
Citations to 160,000 book reviews published in journals on U.S. and Canadian history from 1954 – present.
On the main search screen choose limit to "Book Reviews."
Full-text of 500 reviews published in physics journals.
Under Search, search for "book review" in Abstract/Title/Keywords.
Citations to 60,000 book reviews in Art journals.
Under Advanced Search, Limit To: Record Type Phrase – "Book Review."
CINAHL Plus with Full-Text (nursing)
Citations to 1000 book reviews in Nursing journals.
Communications and Mass Media Complete
Citations to 40,000 reviews published in communications journals.
Search for "Books -- Reviews" in SU Subject Terms.
Gale Literary Databases (literature)
Includes selected full-text of and citations to criticism and interpretation of current and historical literature.
Citations to 80,000 book reviews published in science journals.
Under Advanced Search, Limit To: Record Type Phrase – "Book Review."
Citations to 300,000 book reviews published in humanities journals.
Under Advanced Search, Limit To: Record Type Phrase – "Book Review."
MathSciNet (mathematics)
Text of 80,000 book reviews published in Mathematics Reviews.
Under Publications, set Publication Type to "Books."
PsycCRITIQUES (psychology)
Full-text of 37,000 book reviews on research in psychology.
PsycINFO (psychology)
Citations to 60,000 book reviews published in psychology journals.
Citations to 200,000 reviews in social science journals.
Under Advanced Search, Limit To: Record Type Phrase – "Book Review."
Social Services Abstracts (social work)
Citations to 2,000 book reviews in social work journals.
Citations to 20,000 book reviews in sociology journals.
Electronic Journal Collections with Full-Text Book Reviews
Full-text of 50,000 book reviews published in scholarly journals.
Under Advanced Search, search for "book review" in the title box.
Includes full-text of 75,000 reviews from selected academic journals, most published from 2001 to the present.
On the Advanced Search screen, limit by Type: "Review."
Includes full-text of 10,000 book reviews from journals published by the American Psychological Association.
Includes full-text of 20,000 book reviews published in scholarly journals from 1999 to the present.
Includes full-text of 40,000 book reviews from scholarly journals from 1996 to the present.
Includes full-text of 20,000 reviews from scholarly journals from 1997 to the present.
Includes full-text of 14,000 reviews from scholarly journals from 1997 to the present.
Free Web Sites (with Full-text of Book Reviews)
An online scholarly review journal in the humanities and social sciences, including the text of over 10,000 reviews from 1993 to the present.
Available via: http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/reviews
ACQWEB's Directory of Book Reviews on the Web
Available via: http://acqweb.org/bookrev.html
Select reviews are available free online.
Available via: http://www.nybooks.com/
Under Editorial Reviews (found below an entry for a specific book), Amazon sometimes provides access to summaries created to sell the book (from Publisher's Weekly), and/or snippets of reviews from critical review publications.
Under Spotlight Revies (found below an entry for a specific books), other customers provide their feedback on the work.
Available via: http://www.amazon.com/
The following titles are print magazines/journals/newspapers which focus on reviewing books.
Available: Shelved in Periodicals section under the title of the periodical.
Scholarly: American Anthropologist, American Book, American Political Science Review, Black Books Bulletin, Book Forum, Books Abroad, Books of the Southwest, British Book News, Contemporary Psychology, Contemporary Sociology, Economic Books, Hispanic American Historical Review, Interracial Books for Children, Journal of Economic Literature, Latin American Review of Books, London Review of Books, New York Times Book Review, Pacific Historical Review, Public Administration Review, Reviews in Anthropology, Reviews in American History, San Francisco Review of Books, Small Press Review, Sociological Review, Times (London) Literary Supplement, Wall Street Review of Books, West Coast Review, Women's Review of Books
For Libraries: Booklist, Choice, Library Journal, Publishers' Weekly
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