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Book reviews provide summaries, contemporary criticism, and succinct evaluations
about published works. Reviews normally appear within a year of the date
of publication; if this date is not known, it often can be ascertained by
searching the title of the work in CATNYP,
the online catalog of the research collections; if the publication is not
found therein and was acquired by the Library before 1971, it is then necessary
to check the Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries. If these
two sources are unable to provide the desired information, please consult WorldCat,
an international bibliographic database. In addition, feel free to speak
to a librarian at the Information Desk.
If you need further assistance, visit our reference desk, or e-mail us at ask@nypl.org
Requesting Materials
Sources for book review citations will provide the titles and dates of periodicals
in which the reviews appear. To obtain the call numbers of the appropriate
periodicals, first check CATNYP, the Library’s online catalog. If the
periodical in question is not found in CATNYP, check the 800-volume Dictionary
Catalog of the Research Libraries of the New York Public Library,
listing materials acquired before 1972. Although the vast majority of the
entries in the Dictionary Catalog are to be found in CATNYP, some titles,
especially defunct periodicals of limited run, may be found only in the Dictionary
Catalog. After determining the call number for the periodical, complete
a blue and white call slip with the title of the periodical, the date of
the article, and the call number. Do not include the title of the article
or its author.
Basic Reference Sources
Book
Review Digest Plus An index, with abstracts, to book reviews
from publications in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. It
covers the period from 1983 to the present.
Book Review Digest Retrospective Same as above but
covers the period from 1905 through 1982. Both Book Review Digest
Plus and Book Review Digest Retrospective may
be searched by keyword, subject, title of book, author of book, author of
review, Dewey Decimal Number, publication year, and ISBN.
Book Review Index Online Covering the period from 1965
to the present, this resource indexes book reviews appearing in British
and American scholarly and general interest publications. This resource
may be searched by keyword, author of book, author of review, title of book,
and publication date.
Book
Reviews in Retrospective Sources
Nineteenth-Century
Masterfile is an electronic index to many resources printed
in the nineteenth century. It is especially important for its inclusion
of Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1881 which
contains book reviews.
American Periodical Series and America’s
Historical Newspapers are databases which can be searched by
keyword. The former provides the full text of many periodicals, and
the latter is the equivalent resource for newspapers; both cover the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Book reviews are found in
both resources, and may be searched by title of the book, author of
the book, or author of review.
The following print titles provide a resource for book reviews for the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, a period which precedes the introduction of
the standard book review indexing tools. Combined
Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974 (Woodbridge,
CT: Research Publications, 1982-1984), 10 vols. JFF 96-5182. Arranged
alphabetically by author of the book and supplemented by title index.
Combined Retrospective
Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974 (Arlington,
Va.: Carrollton Press, 1979-1982), 15 vols. JFF 96-5151. Arranged
alphabetically by author of the book and supplemented by title index.
C.R.I.S.: The
Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in History, 1838-1974 (Washington:
Carrollton Press, 1977-1978), 11 vols. JFF 94-1576. Volumes
one through four cover world history; volumes five through nine cover
United States history, and volumes ten and eleven are author indexes.
C.R.I.S.: The
Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in Political Science, 1886-1974 (Washington:
Carrollton Press, 1977-1978), 8 vols. JLF 86-1799. Volume one covers
international affairs, organizations, international relations, and trade;
volume two covers general studies and methodology; volumes three to six
cover public administration; and volumes seven and eight are the author
index.
C.R.I.S.: The
Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in Sociology, 1895-1974 (Washington:
Carrollton Press, 1978), 6 vols. JLF 86-1798. Please see CATNYP for
the arrangement by sub-discipline for each volume; volume 6 is the author
index.
Book
Reviews in Contemporary Sources
Many contemporary
resources provide book reviews; they are available electronically and may
be consulted on the Library’s Selected Electronic Resources page.
Please check the description for each resource to determine the years covered
as well as the availability of full text as opposed to citations. The following
is a select list of these specialized resources.
EBSCO Research Databases provide full text or abstract
for articles, including book reviews, appearing in scholarly, specialized,
and general periodicals. Thousands of periodicals, representing a
wide range of disciplines and subjects, are covered.
More specialized indexing tools include the following: Access: The
Supplementary Index to Periodicals; America: History and Life; Anthropological
Literature; Art Full Text; Art Index Retrospective; ATLA Religion Database;
Historical Abstracts; Humanities Abstracts; Social Sciences Abstracts; Sociological
Abstracts; PsychArticles; PsychInfo. The book reviews indexed in these
sources may be accessed by title of book, name of author of book, and name
of reviewer
.
Selected
Internet Sites
- Bookreporter
http://www.bookreporter.com/index.asp
Book reviews, author profiles and interviews, excerpts, literary games and
contests.
- Booksonline
http://www.booksonline.co.uk
Reviews and book-related articles from the London Telegraph. Published online
since 1996.
- H-Net:
Humanities and Social Sciences Online
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/
An international, interdisciplinary consortium of scholars and teachers,
H-Net creates and coordinates Internet networks in order to advance teaching
and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Site contains
peer-reviewed essays, multimedia materials, and discussions aimed at colleagues
and the interested public.
- London
Review of Books
http://www.lrb.co.uk
Website of the bimonthly London Review of Books features an extensive, full-text
archive.
- New
York Review of Books
http://nybooks.com/nyrev/
Contains select full-text articles.
- Salon.com:
Books
http://www.salon.com/books/index.html
Daily book reviews, interviews with writers, and a weekly list of reading
recommendations by celebrated authors.
