INLS 111: INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES I
School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
Scope: This guide
suggests sources for locating book reviews.
It is not intended as a comprehensive list. Consult Balay’s Guide for other sources of book reviews
as well as your textbook.
Because most book review indexes are
arranged by date, the first step in finding a review is determining the book’s
date of publication. This can be done
by looking at the back of the title page if you have the book in hand, by
checking the author-title card catalog, or by consulting such bibliographic
tools as WorldCat, Books in Print, [Electronic Access: http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/]
National Union Catalog, or Cumulative Book Index.
When using the book review indexes listed
below it is generally most efficient to start with the comprehensive general
sources (listed under “A” in each section of this guide) and then move to more
specific indexes. The numbers at the
end of many entries indicates the index table location or stack in the
reference area of the Davis Library at UNC-CH.
Note: location numbers may not always be correct due to collection
shifting. Location “Annex” = Davis
Reference Annex.
I. GENERAL SOURCES
A. Most Comprehensive
Book
Review Digest. New York:
H.W. Wilson, 1905- . Davis Ref. Electronic Access: http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/].
Includes selected fiction and non-fiction
titles published in the journals and general periodicals. Includes brief
excerpts of reviews as well as citations.
Note:
There is a cumulative author-title index covering 1905-1974.
Book
Review Index. Detroit:
Gale Research, 1965- . [Davis
Ref. Z1035.A1 B6] 2; Dialog.
Cites reviews of fiction, non-fiction and
children’s books. Covers over 350
journals, many quite specialized.
Reference Books 1965-1984; Periodicals Reviews 1976-1984. Also searchable by computer. Inquire at the Davis Ref. Reference Desk for
information on the Computer-Assisted Research Service.
B.
Historical Sources
Current
Book Review Citations. New York:
H.W. Wilson, 1976-82. [Davis
Ref. Z1035.A1C86] Storage.
Includes some foreign language
books. Covers over 1200 periodicals. Includes all reviews indexed in other H. W.
Wilson Company periodical indexes (Reader’s
Guide, Humanities Index, Social Sciences Index, Applied Science and Technology Index, Biological and Agricultural Index, Business Periodicals Index, Library Literature, Art Index, Music Index)
and is therefore the most comprehensive source from 1976 to 1982.
New
York Times Book Review Index. New York:
New York Times. [Davis Ref.
folio Z1035.A1N5, http://search.nytimes.com/books/search/] Row 2.
C.
Other General Sources
Alternative
Press Index. Baltimore:
Alternative Press Center, 1969- .
[Davis Ref. AI3 A27] Row 19.
Covers around 140 liberal and
“underground” periodicals, most not indexed elsewhere.
Index
to Black Periodicals. Boston:
GK Hall, 1960- . [Davis Ref.
Z1361.N39I386 Row 13; Electronic Access http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/
then Black Studies.
Attempts to cover all regularly published
Black American periodicals. Citations
are arranged alphabetically by book title under heading “Book Reviews.”
ISI Citation Indexes. Philadelphia:
Institute for Scientific Information, 1969- .
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
Science Citation Index.
Social
Sciences Citation Index.
Electronic
Access http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/ [ISI Web of Science]
Extensive journal coverage. Book reviews included from 1964 on. Reviews listed in “Citation Index” section
under book author; an “R” or “B” between title of the journal and the volume
number indicates a review.
II. SELECTED SUBJECT SPECIFIC SOURCES.
Note: Some examples of specific indexes are listed
below. In general, to locate subject
specific reviews, use the appropriate subject specific indexes for the topic.
America: History and Life.
Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1964-
. [Davis Ref. Z1236.A48, Row 16;
Electronic Access http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/];
Dialog; also available in CD-ROM.
Part B is index to book reviews. Covers over 100 journals in U.S. and
Canadian history. Review citations began with volume 11, 1974; volume includes
reviews for books published from 1969-1974.
Book Review Index to Social Science
Periodicals, 1964-74. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 1978-81.
[Davis
Ref. Z7161.A15 B65]
Covers all books reviewed in over 200
periodicals. After 1974, index
superseded by Social Sciences Index
(below) and Current Book Review Citations
(I.A. above).
Contemporary
Issues Criticism. Detroit:
Gale Research [Davis H31.C755].
Prints excerpts from reviews of
contemporary writings of general interest in social sciences areas.
Wall
Street Review of Books. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Redgrave Pub. Co., 1973- . [Davis Ref. HG1.W28] 15
Contains signed reviews relevant to
business and economics.
Current
Index to Journals in Education. Phoenix:
Oryx Press, 1969- . [Davis Ref.
Z5813.C8, Row 9; Electronic Access http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/] ;
ERIC CD-ROM.
Reviews listed in subject section under
heading “Book Reviews.”
Current
Law Index. Los Altos, CA: Information Access, 1980- .
[LAW K33.C8744]
Covers 660 law periodicals. Reviews listed under book author in
author-title index.
Chicorel
Index to Mental Health Book Reviews. New York:
Chicorel Library Publishing, 1977- . [Davis Ref. Z6664.N5C48]
Arranged by book author; subject
index. Annual, slow to appear. Continues Mental Health Book Review Index, 1956-72, RA 790 .A1M4 folio.
Contemporary
Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Assoc., 1956- . [Davis BF1.c53]
Reviews of books, films, tapes and other
media related to psychology.
Biological
and Agricultural Index. New York:
Wilson, 1916- . [Davis Z5073
.A46] Stacks; OCLC FirstSearch
Reviews listed by subject after entry for
book from 1916-1930, under the heading “Book Reviews” from 1931-1976, and in a
separate section at the end of the volume from 1976 to date. Since 1976 reviews cited here also included
in Current Book Review Citations
(I.A. above).