Introduction
There are many sources for book reviews.
Most book reviews appear in journals or newspapers.
In order to use the indexes to book reviews
that are in the Rockhurst University Library,
you need to know the author's name, the book
title, and the publication date of the book.
There are several ways to locate book reviews:
Indexes
and Databases:
Book Review Digest, 1905-present.
Index Area Ref. Z 1219 C95
This in an annual index of selected book reviews in about 75 English
and American periodicals. It is arranged alphabetically by the last name
of the book author, with a subject and title index located at the back.
The reviews are from general periodicals rather than specialized subject
periodicals. The author entry includes a brief descriptive note and bibliographic
references to the periodical in which the review appeared. Some of the
references include a brief summary of the review. You need to check the
list of periodicals at the front of each volume to find out what are
the full titles of the periodicals.
Example from the 1981 volume:
Sparks, Muriel. Loitering with Intent.
1) Reviewed by George Reedy
America 145:98 Ag 29-35 '81 900w
2) Reviewed by P.L. Adams
Atlantic 247:100 Je '81 80w
Note in this example that the reviewer is
listed, when known, and the length of the
article in indicated in words. A 900 word
review would have more depth than an 80 word
review. You can choose what you need.
Using the subject index in each volume,
you may utilize the Book Review Digest as
a subject bibliography by locating all books
reviewed on a specific subject.
Book Review Index, 1965-present.
Index Area Ref. Z 1035 A1 B6
This is an annual author listing with abbreviated citations to reviews
in periodicals. There is no summary of the review. This source indexes
about 450 periodicals. There is also a title index in the back, but there
is no subject index.
An example from the 1993 volume:
Clancy, Tom. Without Remorse.
NYTBR - v. 98 - Ag22'93 - p13+ [501+]
In this example you would need to turn to
the front of the 1993 volume to find that "NYTBR" is
the journal New York Times Book Review.
The review is in volume 98, in the August
22, 1993 issue, starts on page 13 and is
more than 500 words in length.
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities, 1965-1990.
Index Area Ref. Z 1035 A1 I63
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities covers approximately 700
humanities periodicals. The entries are arranged alphabetically by the
author's last name. The entry lists only a citation to the review, no
summary of the review is given.
An example from the 1990 volume:
Elster, C.H. There is No Zoo in Zoology
and Other Beastly Mispronunciations.
W.A.K. 300:Oct88-223
In this entry the author and title of the
reviewed book appears first. The initials "W.A.K." stand
for the person who reviewed the work. The
number "300" corresponds to the
title of the journal number 300 in the table
at the front of the volume. By looking at
this table we see that "300" is
the Journal of English Linguistics.
The review appears in the October, 1988 issue,
on page 223.
Also look at the book review sections of subject-specific
indexes and abstracts, such as the Social
Sciences Index, Readers' Guide to Periodical
Literature, Humanities Index , etc. Ask
at the Information Desk for suggestions on
which subject-specific index to use.
Finding
Journals and Newspapers
Use the Periodical
Holdings List to determine if we have the journal
or newspaper in which the book review you need appears.
If we do not carry the publication, and at the Information
Desk for assistance in locating the publication in another
library
Internet
Sources
How
to Review a Book
http://library.usask.ca/ref/howto/breview_write1.html
A guide provided by the University of Saskatchewan.
How
to Write a Book Review
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/pbmiddle/environment/bookrev.htm
A guide provided by a middle school teacher. |
