How to Find a Book Review
CONTENTS:
WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?
HOW CAN BOOK REVIEWS BE FOUND?
STEPS FOR FINDING BOOK REVIEWS
SELECTED SOURCES OF BOOK REVIEWS:
Book reviews provide summaries and/or evaluations of published books. They are often published in magazines or journals.
A number of general and specialized indexes provide the information necessary to find book review. In most cases these indexes list book reviews and provide a citation (reference) indication where the reviews are located.
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- Refer to the title page of the book to determine the authors name and the year in which the book was first published.
- If you do not have the book with you but the book is available in the Library, the above information may be found in EUREKA!, the online public access catalogue or in books such as Books in Print (as at the Information Desk).
- Once you know the author's name and date of publication, scan the list of "Selected Sources of Book Reviews" on the following pages and select an index.
- You will find reviews listed either in a separate book review section at the back of the index or in the main part of the index under the heading "BOOK REVIEWS". Look for reviews under the name of the author(s) or editor(s) of the book. Start with index volume that corresponds to the book's first publication date and check several subsequent volumes. For example, if the book was published in 1979, check in the indexes for 1979,1980,1981 and 1982.
- When you locate a review for your book, the following information is generally provided to help you locate the review: the abbreviated title of the journal in which the review appears, the volume number, page number, month and year. In most cases, abbreviations are explained at the front of the index.
- Once a list of reviews is compiled, consult EUREKA! To determine if the journals in which the reviews appear are available in our Library. Search by title for the name of the journal.
- If you have difficulty finding or using an index, ask the Information & Research Assistance (Reference) staff for help.
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Most of the indexes listed are located at the Information & Research Assistance Desk (Reference) on level 11 of the Library.
Book Review Digest (Z 1219 C96) 1955+
Book Review Index (Z 1035 A1 B6) 1969+
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974 (Z 1035 A1 C64)
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (ZA 3 R4) 1900/04+
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Canadian Book Review Annual (Z 1329 C3) 1975+
Canadian News Index (ZA 3 C25) 1977-1992
Canadian Periodical Index (ZA 3 C24) 1984/59-1993;
Canadian Index (ZA 3 C238) 1993+
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Fine Arts and Humanities:
- General
Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974 (Z 1035 A1 C63)
Humanities Index (ZA 3 R51) 1974/75+
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities (Z 035 A1 I63) 1960-1990
- Art
Art Index (ZA 3 R51) 1975/75+
- History
America: History and Life (ZE 31 A48) 1954/63+
- Philosophy
Philosopher's Index (ZB 1 P4) 1967/68+
- Religion
Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (ZA 3 C#) 1930/33-1992
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Sciences:
- General
Biological and Agricultural Index (ZQH 1 B5) 1984/51-1992/93
General Science Index (ZQ 1 S38) 1978/79+
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Social Sciences:
- General
Social Sciences Index (ZA 3 R52)1974/75+
- Business
Business Periodicals Index (ZHF 5001 B8) 1958+
Canadian Business Index (ZHF 1 C3 ) 1975/76-1992
Canadian Index (ZA1 3C 238) 1993+
- Education
Canadian Education Index (ZL 1 C2) 1965+
Education Index (ZL 1 E3) 1929+
- Nursing
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (ZRT 41 C85) 1956+
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RESEARCH GUIDE ASSISTANCE
If you have difficulty finding or using the materials listed in this topic guide, please ask for assistance at the Information & Research Assistance Desk on Level 10 of the Library. Quick Reference Questions can be submitted electronically by clicking here.
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Content Revised: February 25, 2010
