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Paper Indexes - General
Specialized Paper Indexes
Searching Databases
Finding Specific Journals
Internet Resources
The Marvin K. Peterson Library has a wide array of resources to help you find book reviews. To search for book reviews, use our print indexes and electronic databases -- explained more fully in our Finding Articles guide. If you have a particular citation of a book review already, you can go directly to our Journals at the MKP Library link. Also search the Internet carefully and critically for additional reviews.
Feel free to consult the rest of our subject, research, and style guides, which are found online at the library home page. Some guides are also available in print at the information desk. Visit us there, call us at 203-932-7189, or email us at LibraryHelp@newhaven.edu for assistance of any kind.
[Note: This online guide contains direct links to databases and websites. To locate any of the non-subscription websites if you have printed out this guide, simply type in the name of the organization in Google or another search engine to find a link to the site.]
Finding Book Reviews in Paper Indexes - General
Book Review Digest. 1923-current. Ref Z1219 .C96
Contains citations for reviews of the most popular books published in the United States since 1905. Look up the author's name in the volume that corresponds to the book's publication date. If you don't know the author, use the subject and title index to locate the author's name. If the book is listed, you will find citations and abstracts of reviews. If the book is not listed, it is a good idea to check the volume for the year following the publication date of the book.Book Review Index. 1965-1982. Ref Z1035.A1 B6
Cites book reviews that have appeared in 255 general and scholarly journals between 1965 and 1982. Each entry is limited to a shortened review citation.New York Times Book Review Index. 1896-1970. Ref AP2 .N659
This five-volume set indexes reviews that appeared in the New York Times Book Review from its first issue in 1896 through 1970.New York Times Index. 1863-1989. Ref AI21 .N45
Provides citations to articles in addition to book reviews from the New York Times. The New York Times is available in the library on microfilm from 1934 to the present and in several online databases. Note that the New York Times Book Review section follows the Sunday edition on microfilm.Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1890-1899, with Supplementary Indexing 1900-1922. Ref AI3 .R396
Coverage includes reviews of popular fiction and books for the general reading public. Continued as Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. 1900-current. Ref AI3 .R4
Book reviews were originally included in the main section of the index under the author of the book. Since 1976 book reviews have been listed by author at the end of each volume. Coverage emphasizes reviews of popular fiction and books for the general reading public.Finding Books Reviews in Paper Indexes:
Specialized Subject Areas
Applied Science and Technology Index. 1958-current. Ref Z7913 .I7
Includes book reviews in the following fields: space science, chemistry, computer technology, fire prevention, physics, and industrial arts.Art Index. 1929-1984. Ref Z5937 .A78
Citations to book reviews concerning art.British Humanities Index. 1961-1975. Ref AI3 .B7
Subject index to periodicals from British humanities journals and other well-respected weekly publications from the U.K. and other English-speaking countries.Business Periodicals Index. 1958-current. Ref Z7164.C81 B983
Includes book reviews in the following areas: accounting, marketing, communications, economics, finance, insurance, and management.A Guide to Critical Reviews of United States Fiction, 1870-1910. Ref Z1225 .E35
Book reviews of American fiction.Humanities Index. 1974-current. Ref AI3 .H8
Subject coverage includes archaeology and classical studies, area studies, folklore, history, language and literature, literary and political criticism, performing arts, philosophy, religion, and related subjects.Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities. 1961-1980. Ref Z1035.A1 I63
Arranged alphabetically by author. Books reviewed cover humanities as well as social sciences.Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors 680-1904. Ref PR83 .M73 1959
This work is supplemented by the following series for critical commentary and references on 20th-century authors:
The Critical Temper. Ref PR83 .C764
Modern American Literature. Ref PS221 .C8 1969
Modern British Literature . Ref PR473 .T4
Literary Reviews and Essays, on American, English, and French Literature by Henry James. Circulation Stacks. PS2120 .L5 1957a
Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1890-1899, with Supplementary Indexing 1900-1922. Ref AI3 .R396. Coverage includes reviews of popular fiction and books for the general reading public.
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. 1802-1906. Ref AI3 .P7
Useful for reviews of old books, Poole's contains reviews of nonfiction under the subjects of the books, while reviews of novels, plays and poetry are indexed under the author's name.Social Sciences and Humanities Index. 1907-1974. Ref AI3 .R49
An author and subject index to publications in the following disciplines: anthropology; archeology and classical studies; economics; folklore; geography; history; language and literature; music; philosophy; political science; religion and theology; sociology and theatre arts.Social Sciences Index. 1974-current. Ref AI3 .S6
Subject coverage includes anthropology, area studies, economics, environmental science, psychology, public administration, sociology, and related subjects.Finding Book Reviews Online Through Databases
The following is a list of multidisciplinary databases containing book reviews of all types. Use your 16-digit ID card number (which is on the back of some ID cards) to access the databases directly from this page. You may view an alphabetical list of all our databases by logging into the proxy connection. Only registered students, faculty and staff with a valid UNH ID card may access these databases.
Expanded Academic ASAP is an excellent resource for book reviews, providing access to citations and abstracts from 3,200 sources, including 2,000 full text titles in both scholarly and popular periodicals.
FirstSearch offers a number of databases in all academic fields, and provides access to citations and abstracts from English-language and international periodicals. Includes BooksInPrint, which contains reviews of in-print, out-of-print and forthcoming books. Access via FirstSearch icon, in library only. Ask a librarian to log you in.
General Reference Center Gold features general interest and business magazines and includes book reviews.
InfoTrac OneFile contains full text titles covering a broad range of subjects. Access to 9,200 titles from general interest magazines, academic journals, business and technology publications, law journals, health care periodicals, newspapers and news services.
LexisNexis Academic Universe is a completely full text online information service that is valuable for finding book reviews in newspapers, as well as in popular and professional journals.
Literature Resource Center from Gale offers access to both scholarly and popular book reviews covering all types of authors from different eras. LRC contains information on more than 120,000 writers, with comprehensive coverage of 2,500 of the most famous authors. Access for 1 user at a time. If you can't log in right away, try again later.
ProQuest Newspapers is an online database that provides citations, abstracts and full text articles from newspapers, which are useful for book reviews, as well as popular and professional journals. Full text coverage of the Christian Science Monitor (1988-), Hartford Courant (1992-), Los Angeles Times (1985-), New York Times (1999-), Wall Street Journal (1982-), and Washington Post (1987-). ProQuest Historical Newspapers provides older reviews not contained in ProQuest Newspapers, often back to the late 1800s.
Note: The Hartford Courant - Historical is not automatically selected if you click on the "ProQuest Historical Newspapers" link, above. If you would like to search Hartford Courant - Historical as well, you must click on "select multiple databases," then on the next screen check the box next to "ProQuest Historical Newspapers Hartford Courant 1764-1922."
Note: You might also find field-specific book reviews in our more specialized databases, depending on your field. See our Annotated List of Databases for a full description of all our current databases.
Go to the Journals at the MKP Library link to find journals (scholarly, popular magazine, newspaper or other) in the library and online. You can search by title, title keyword, or browse by subject. Journals are shelved by title, ignoring initial articles ("the," "a," or "an") at the beginning of the title. Paper journals are on the lower level of the library, the location shown in the library catalog as "Journals Collection." Those on microfilm or microfiche are in the microform room, also on the lower level. Journals that are in Government Documents can be retrieved once you fill in a Docs Request form at the Information Desk. Online Journals are available from links on our library's home page at any Internet Terminal. Use the Journals at the MKP Library link, and check the "Linked Resources" tab in our library's catalog. You may have to go through the proxy screen.The following list is a sample of the publications in which you can find book reviews at the Peterson library. Below, we have done searches for these titles from our Journals at the MKP Library link. When you click on the titles below, you will find up-to-date information on the titles, dates, and formats of these periodicals.
The Fiddlehead
From the University of New Brunswick (Canada) Department of English, this journal concentrates on Canadian literature in English.New York Times Book Review
Note that the New York Times Book Review section follows the New York Times Sunday edition on microfilm. The New York Times is available in the library on microfilm from 1934 to the present and in several online databases.Times Literary Supplement. Book reviews from The Times of London, England.
Internet Sources for Book Reviews, Both General and Specialized
Some of the following websites have been created under the auspices of professional or educational organizations. In general, look to websites whose addresses end in .edu or .org. Many professional sites end in .org. Those that end in .com indicate commercial sites. Both .com and .org sites may be useful and of good quality, but it is important to check the credentials of those who create or distribute the content of any site. Look for the "About Us" section of a site's home page.
AcqWeb's Directory of Book Reviews on the Web
From Vanderbilt University, this site contains sources for book reviews from all disciplines.Atlantic Monthly
Online version of the magazine.Booklist
The online version of the American Library Association publication.Booklist Center
Contains lists of recommended books galore, organized in categories currently from A-to-Y.BookPage. Online version of the print publication.
BookSpot
Focuses on the best sites for genres, bestsellers, reviews, e-texts, and book news.BookWire
A publication of R.R. Bowker, this site features information for the book publishing industry.Dept. of Economics, Wake Forest University
Reviews of books on economic and business history.Dr. Dobb's Electronic Review of Computer Books
Electronic Poetry Review
Publishes poetry, interviews, book reviews and essays.H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences
From Michigan State University, this site includes film and other kinds of reviews as well as book reviews.Jacket's Book Reviews
A quarterly publication that focuses on poetry, interviews, reviews, and new writing. Authors listed alphabetically.London Review of Books
The online version of the print publication.Modern Word
Features literature reviews, interviews, and recommended links; meant to be of use to editors, publishers, and librarians.NewPages
Guide to review sources online, including newspapers (both regular and college presses).New York Review of Books
Online edition of print publication.New York Times
Online edition of print publication.Overbooked
Focuses on genre fiction; includes reviews and reading lists.Paperboy
A link to newspapers around the world.PressDisplay.com - Newspaper Replicas from around the World
Univ. of Pennsylvania Book Review Sources - Research Guide
Features book review sources by area of interest.Any questions? Ask at the Information Desk or call us at (203) 932-7189.
rev. 10/06