When you search for a book by title in SouthernSearch, you will frequently find reviews of the book. Look for the word Review above the record.
The following databases are good starting points for finding book reviews in journals, magazines, and newspapers.
If an article is not available full-text online or in print at Buley Library, you can request it through interlibrary loan.
Enter your username and password to access the interlibrary loan forms.
Select "Journal Articles" under New Request on the left hand side and fill out the details of your request. Then click submit.
Most often the article will be emailed to you. If the article cannot be emailed it will be photocopied and mailed to you. You will be notified if a request cannot be fulfilled.
There is no charge for interlibrary loan.
Amazon.com sometimes provides its own editorial reviews as well as reviews from other sources such as The New York Times Book Review and Booklist as well as readers.
BookMuse.com contains book reviews, author interviews, literary prize lists, and discussion guides and tips for book groups. Titles are searchable by genre in both the adult and special "Kids Corner," which also allows searching by reading level. The user can also sign up for an e-mail newsletter and submit reviews. Profiles are provided for the board and for authors of individual reviews.
BookPage is a monthly book review publication distributed to readers through subscribing bookstores and public libraries. Founded in 1988 and located in Nashville, Tennessee, BookPage serves as a broad-based selection guide to the best new books published every month. The tone is upbeat and literate, focusing on bestsellers as well as new discoveries.
BookWire is a site devoted to the book industry and provides links to several major review publications, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and The Book Report.
Complete Review offers reviews of books that have recently been published or republished and featured in the news. Contains links to publishers' sites from all around the world.
Goodreads is one of the best sites for book reviews and recommendations.
H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences is an online scholarly review resource that publishes reviews of books, films, software, museum exhibits, and web sites. Reviews can be searched by year of publication. Reviewers, authors and readers engage in discussions of the reviews online.
LibraryThing connects you to people who read similar books as you.
LoveReading is a UK-based site with top-notch reviews by staff editors and contributors.
NPR has excellent reviews and podcasts.
To locate reviews of older books, you might need to use a print index or abstract housed on the ground floor of Buley. Before you start you should know the book's title, author, and date of publication. Look up the volume that corresponds to the year the book was published. On occasion, it may be necessary to check volumes that appear a year or two after the book was published as there could be a time lag between the publication of the book and the publication of the review.
A print index provides only the citation, not the review. An abstract will provide a summary of the review. To access the full review, check the Journal Finder on the library home page to determine if we subscribe to the periodical in which the review appears. If the library does not have the periodical you can request the article through interlibrary loan.
Below is a list of Indexes and Abstracts to locate book reviews.
Alternative Press Index (1987-2008)
This print publication indexes nearly 300 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines. Book reviews are indexed by author/title of the book. Also includes art, concert, dance, multimedia and pamphlet reviews.
Book Review Digest (1905-2007)
Book Review Digest is an annual print index that provides abstracts or summaries of book reviews. Searching is mainly by title or author. Each annual volume must be searched separately so the year the book was published must be known. We have print volumes dating back to 1905. Book Review Digest is also available online
Book Review Index (1965-2010)
Book Review Index (BRI) is an annual author/title index that provides citations to reviews published in popular periodicals, scholarly journals, and newspapers. It is important to know when the book was published in order to locate the citation for a review in BRI.
An Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities (1965-1990)
This index covers journals published internationally. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. A list of journals indexed appears at the front of each volume.
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1802-1906)
Poole's is a major excellent index for articles published in British and American periodicals in the nineteenth century. Reviews of fiction, poetry and drama appear under the author's name. Reviews of non-fiction books are classified by subject.
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (1900-2007)
The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature is a print index of mostly popular periodical literature. This series, in print, extends back to 1900. Indexing is primarily by author and subject in one continuous alphabet. Beginning with the 1976-77 volume, books reviews are gathered in a separate section at the end of each annual volume; this section is then indexed by author, or by title if the author is unknown.
All print journals are shelved in alphabetical order by title on the ground floor
IT printers on the first floor allow you to scan books or documents. There is a printer located by the IT Help Desk and another near the reference stacks. Scanning to your email is free. Copying and printing is 5 cents for a single side black and white page and 8 cents for a double-side page. Color printing is 25 cents for a single page and 40 cents for a double-side page. Assistance with scanning using the IT printers is provided by the IT Help Desk on the first floor.
Journals on microfilm or microfiche are shelved in the Microforms Area. Most of the readers are also printers. Ask for assistance in the Technical Services area.
