1. Locate the author's full name, the full title of the book and the publication date.

• Use Summit, a combined catalog of Northwest academic libraries
• Use Global Books in Print (Most comprehensive database of English language books worldwide)
• Use WorldCat (Combined catalog of hundreds of libraries around the world.)
• Ask for help at the Reference Desk

2. Choose an approprite index from the General Book Review Indexes list (below)

3. When using a print index, begin by selecting the index volume printed in the same year as the book's publication date

4. Search by book title or author in the print index or database to locate citations to book review articles.

5. If the full text of the review is not provided consult the library catalog and search by journal title for the magazine, journal or newspaper to see if the library owns the journal; make a note of the location and call number. Most databases offered by the Western libraries will connect you to a possible online source of the review or to a library catalog search through the Find It button.

Important to Remember:

• Consult several review of the same book for a more balanced assessment. The content of a book review varies with the type of publication in which it appears.
• Evaluate the reviewer's credientials, the development of the reviewer's arguments and the evidence presented in support of their position.
• When using the indexes listed below, begin with the volume for the year the book was published. Scholarly reviews usually begin to appear a year or two after the book ispublished and continue to appear for a ffew years. Important or classic books may continue to be reviewed in contemporary literature.

• Alternative Press Index
  API Indexes journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change. Coverage is international and interdisciplinary indexing over 300 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines. Includes selected abstracts from research journals. Subjects covered include: animal rights, anarchism, civil rights, democracy, environmental issues, feminism, gay and lesbian issues, labor, national liberation, socialism – theory and practice, and indigenous peoples. The print version provides coverage back to 1969 (Haggard 2 Reference AI 3.A27).
  [Resource no longer available]

• Article First
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  This databases contains bibliographic citations that describe items listed on the table of contents pages for more than 13,000 journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture. Search by author's name and/or title of the book, limit the search by "type" then select "review".

• Book Review Index
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z 1035 .A1 B6
  • Dates covered: 1965-current
  The Book Review Index provides access to reviews of popular, academic, and professional books, in all subject areas, that appear in magazines and journals. Search by author's name. Reviews are selected from a much broader range of periodicals than Book Review Digest. There is also a titleindex in the back of each volume. Citations refer to the review, located in periodiclas. Full titles for abbreviated jouranl names are located on the inside ocovers of each volume. Index only, no abstracts are provided.

• EBSCO - Academic Search Complete
  Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 4,600 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals and a total of more than 10,000 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for nearly 1,000 journals.

• Global Books in Print
  Global Books in Print contains bibliographic information from six major English language databases for books currently in print. Searchable by author, title, subject, publisher, publication year or ISBN. Search by book title: each book that is reviewed can be identified by a star near the title in the Search Results. For a list of review sources, click on Browse on the top navigation bar or bottom navigation field and choose Review Source. Choose one or more review sources and click View Selections to see titles in every format and status which have been reviewed. Use the Reviewed In limiter in Advanced Search to limit your search results to only titles with reviews.

• Ethnic Newswatch and ENW: a History
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  Ethnic NewsWatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press. Coverage begins in 1990. Included is Ethnic NewsWatch: a History, with retrospective coverage from 1960-1989. 2 Simultaneous Users.

• Readers' Guide Retrospective
  • Dates covered: 1890-1982
  Readers' Guide Retrospective is a database containing comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and reflects the history of 20th century America. Coverage is currently 1890-1982. Search using the author's name or the book title. Coverage is currently 1890-1982; good for locating reviews of older popular books.

• International

• CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index)
  • Dates covered: 1988-current
  Contains full-text or abstracts from more than 400 Canadian and international publications, and the full-text of selected sections of The Globe and Mail newspaper. Also available in print, Reference AI3.C243.

• Global Books in Print
  Global Books in Print contains bibliographic information from six major English language databases for books currently in print. Searchable by author, title, subject, publisher, publication year or ISBN. Search by book title: each book that is reviewed can be identified by a star near the title in the Search Results. For a list of review sources, click on Browse on the top navigation bar or bottom navigation field and choose Review Source. Choose one or more review sources and click View Selections to see titles in every format and status which have been reviewed. Use the Reviewed In limiter in Advanced Search to limit your search results to only titles with reviews.

• Children's Book Reviews

• Children's Book Review Index
  • Location: Reference Z1037.A1C474
  • Dates covered: 1975-current
  "Indexes reviews of children's books, periodicals, books on tape and electronic media."

• Children's Literature Review
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1037 .A1 C498
  • Dates covered: 1976-current
  • Check Catalog
  Provides international coverage of excerpts from reviews, criticism and commentary on children's and young adult books.

• Subject index to children's magazines
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN4835 .S8
  • Check Catalog
  Search for citations to book reviews under the subject heading, "Book Reviews".

• Nineteenth Century Book Reviews

• American literary and drama reviews : an index to late nineteenth century periodicals / Marks, Patricia.
  • Location: Wilson 3W -Books PN2256 .M37 1984
  • Check Catalog
  This print source indexes reviews published from 1880-1900.

• Nineteenth-century literature criticism
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN761 .N5 Title Index
  • Check Catalog
  Compiles substantial excerpts from published criticism on significant authors who died between 1800 and 1900.

• Poole's Index to Periodical Literature
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference AI 3 P7
  • Dates covered: 1802-1907
  • Check Catalog
  Indexes titles and subjects from 500 American and English periodicals published from 1802-1881. Book reviews are listed by the subject of the book or by the author as a subject.

• Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference AI 3 W4
  • Dates covered: 1824-1900
  • Check Catalog
  This publication is an issue by issue list of thecontents of 43 major Victorian periodiclas. While it includes an index of the authors of articles and reviews, it does not index by the author of the book being reviewd. If you are looking for a specific review, begin with the year the book was published and go through the contents systematically.

• Book Reviews in the Arts and Humanities

• America: History and Life / ABC-Clio
  • Dates covered: 1964-current
  A bibliographic database indexing scholarly literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. The scope includes citations and abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, as well as book and media reviews. 6 Simultaneous Users.

• Art Index
  • Location: N1 .A59 (Wilson 1 East - Periodicals)
  • Dates covered: 1984-current
  • Check Catalog
  Art Index online provides international indexing for contemporary art, art history, architecture, archaeology, computers in art, crafts, folk art, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, motion pictures, museology, photography, textiles, and related fields. Coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as a selection of periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. Date range of database coverage is 1984- . The print version of Art Index provides coverage back to 1929. To locate a book review search the title of a book as a Title search combined with Book Review as a Document Type.

• Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  

  AHCI (Web of Science) covers arts and humanities, including archaeology, architecture, area studies, art, classics, dance, film, folklore, history, language and linguistics, literature and literary reviews, music, philosophy, poetry, radio and television, religion and theology, and theater. Indexing includes articles, book reviews, performance reviews, fiction, poetry, editorials, letters, from arts and humanities journals (and selected journals in other disciples)published internationally in all languages. Building on the list of cited sources for each reference, this index can search for works that have cited a specific author or a specific article. Online covers 1995- . To limit your search to book reviews, select Advanced Search and highlight Book review in the box under "Restrict search by languages and document types."

• Historical Abstracts
  • Dates covered: 1954-current
  • Check Catalog
  Historical Abstracts Includes abstracts and citations of books, journal articles, books, and dissertations on world history from 1450 to the present, excluding the United States and Canada. Political, diplomatic, economic, religious, social, cultural, and intellectual history, as well as the history of science, technology, and medicine are represented. 6 Simultaneous Users.

• Book Reviews in the Sciences

• Computing reviews
  • Check Catalog
  A monthly journal compiling reviews of books and journal articles for all aspects of computing sciences.  Entries are listed under broad categories and subsections. There are annual cumulative author and reviewer indexes.

• MathSciNet
  • Dates covered: 1940-current
  Provides full-text access to over 55 years of Mathematical Reviews and Current Mathematical Publications from 1940 to the present. From the Library Homepage, select Search Databases and then Browse Indexes and Databases Alphabetically. You can also use the
  online catalog to perform a title search on "Mathematical Reviews". Choose "MathSciNet" and then click on the hypertext link. This
  database provides access to over 55 years of Mathematical Reviews  and Current Mathematical Publications. Search by author or title.
  Most of the citations include abstracts. 

• Science Citation Index (Web of Science)
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  Available via the Web of Science. A multidisciplinary citation index to the literature of science, technology, biomedicine, and related disciplines. Features include citation indexing, related records, and shared references. To limit your search to book reviews, select Advanced Search and highlight Book review in the box under "Restrict search by languages and document types."

• Book Reviews in the Social Sciences

• ERIC - Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
  • Dates covered: 1966-current
  ERIC is the largest education database in the world providing indexing and abstracts of all types of materials including journal articles, government documents, books, dissertations, and unpublished materials such as curriculum guides, research reports and conference papers in education and related topics in the social sciences. Many ERIC documents published between 1993 and 2004 are now available online full text. Most ERIC documents published from 1966-1993 are available in the ERIC Microfiche collection on Wilson 2 West. Locate reviews using the Advanced Search. Enter Book Reviews as a Descriptor search (from the pull down menu), and type the title of the book as an Anywhere search. 

• Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science)
  • Dates covered: 1990-current
  Social Sciences Citation Index Indexes the journal literature in the social sciences. Available via the Web of Science. Print index 1966 to date, Reference AI3.S614. To limit your search to book reviews, select Advanced Search and highlight Book review in the box under "Restrict search by languages and document types."

• Sociological Abstracts
  • Location: HM1 .S67 (Wilson 1 East)
  • Dates covered: 1963-current
  Sociological Abstracts provides indexing with abstracts of the world's literature in sociology and related disciplines. Available in print and online. Online includes Sociological Abstracts and Social Planning, Policy, and Development Abstracts (SOPODA). Select Advanced search and limit to Publication Type, Book Review.

• Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
  Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) is a comprehensive index to millions of biographical sketches in more than 2,700 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. Consortium (8 Libraries) Shares 8 Simultaneous Users.
  [Resource no longer available]

• Contemporary Authors
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference Z1010 .C65
  Contemporary Authors is a comprehensive source of biographical information on over 100,000 modern novelists, playwrights, poets, scriptwriters, non-fiction writers and journalists.