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How to Find Book Reviews

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Table of Contents

Beginning Hints

Book Review Sources

Author Information Sources

Other Research Guides

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Beginning Hints

Book Review Sources

Research Library
ProQuest

Includes full text with graphics

Scholarly journals and magazines and newspapers.

Coverage: 1971 - current

Search Hints: Use Advanced Search. Type the book title in the first box and change to Abstract. Type Book Review in the second box and change to Document Type.

Example: forces of habit

OmniFile Full Text Mega WilsonWeb

Includes full text with graphics

Scholarly journals and magazines and newspapers.

Coverage: Indexing begins in 1982, abstracts in 1984, and full-text coverage in 1994

Search Hints: Select Book Review from the Document Type selection box.

Example: forces of habit

Academic OneFile - Gale InfoTrac

Includes full text with graphics

Scholarly journals and magazines and newspapers.

Coverage:1980 - current

Search Hints: Type the book title in the first box. Type book review in the seconds box.

Example: forces of habit in the first box -- book review in the second box.

America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts

Mostly scholarly

Some full text.

Coverage: 1960s - current

Search Hints: Type the book title in the Title search box

Click in the box beside Book Reviews in the "limit to" line.

Arts & Humanities Search

More scholarly, some magazines.

Some full text.

Coverage: 1980 - current

Example: violent land

Use the advanced search screen.

Select Book Review from the Document Type drop-down box.

Humanities Full Text

More scholarly, some magazines.

Some full text.

Coverage: 1984 - current

Example: intellectuals and assassins

Use the Advanced Search screen.

Select Book Revew from the drop-down Document Type box.

Book Review Digest Plus
WilsonWeb
(1983 - current)

Some full text - no graphics

Coverage: 1983 - current

Search Hints:

  • Search by book title
  • or by author as an author search (last name first).

JSTOR

Coverage: Beginning of journal to 3 or 4 years ago

Search Hints:

  • Use the advanced search screen.
  • Select "Review" in the "Limit to" line.
  • You can combine an author's last name and a couple of words from the title of the book. Example: courtwright and violent land.
  • You might consider selecting several different kinds of journals -- not just history or sociology. Economics, political science, etc., may have good reviews you can use.


Book Review Digest

Print Index: 1905 - current
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor
- Call number Z1219. C96

Search hints:

  • Find the book's publication year.
  • Look in the Book Review Digest volume for that year or the year after and find the author's name and book title.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal or magazine.


Book Review Index

Print Index: 1965 - current
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor
- Call no. Z1035 .A1 B6

Search Hints:

  • Same instructions as for Book Review Digest.
  • Book Review Index covers more sources than Book Review Digest, so if you can't find your book in the Digest, try the Index.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal or magazine.


Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities


Print Index: 1960 - 1990
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor
- Call no. Z 1035 .A1 I63

Search Hints:

  • Find the book's publication year.
  • Look in the volume for that year or the year after.
  • Look for the author's name.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal or magazine.

Survey of Contemporary Literature

Print: 1954 - 1976
Location: Reference Coll - 2d floor
- Call no. PN44 .M34 1977 (12 volumes).

  • Alphabetical by title. An index covering the whole set is at the end of volume 12. These are outstanding books of the year selected by the publisher.

Magill's Literary Annual

Print: 1977 - current. Two volumes for each year.
Location: Reference Coll - 2d floor
- Call no. PN44 .M335.

  • Essay reviews of 200 outstanding books published during the year.

National Library Service Cumulative Book Review Index - 1905 - 1974

Print Index: 1905 - 1974
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor
- Call no Z 1035 .A1 N3

Search Hints:

  • This set has an author index and a title index.
  • Look in the front of the volume to see the code for the journal or index.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal or index..

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature

 

Print Index: 1890 - current
Location: Index Coll- 3rd floor
- Call no. AI3 .R48

Search Hints:

  • Find the book's publication year.
  • Look in the volume for that year or the year after.
  • Look for the author's name.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal of magazine.

 

Social Sciences Index

Print Index: 1974 - current.
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor
- Call no. AI3 .R53

Search Hints:

  • Find the book's publication year.
  • Look in the volume for that year or the year after in the special book review section at the back of the index.
  • Look for the author's name or the title of the book.
  • Search the UNF Library Catalog to find the call number and location of the journal or magazine.

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Author Information Sources

Biography Resource Center

Full text

Electronic Index: 
Location: GaleNet Databases

Biographical information on more than one million people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas. It combines approximately 250,000 biographies from respected Gale Group sources with nearly one million biographies from The Complete Marquis Who's Who. The database also includes full-text articles from nearly 250 periodicals.

Literature Resource Center

Full text

Electronic Index: 
Location: GaleNet Databases

Literature Resource Center provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline. Combining Gale's most used literary databases in a single Internet-searchable service, the Literature Resource Center covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors.

Biography & Genealogy Master Index

Electronic Index:  Over 12 million biographical sketches
Location: GaleNet Database

Hint: Use the Biography Resource Center and Literature Resource Center for full-text information. The Master Index just gives you information about where to find the articles - not the full text.


Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe

Full text

Electronic Index: Various coverage. All full text.
Location: Lexis-Nexis

Hint: Select Reference and then Biographical Information from the main menu.

Biography Index
via WilsonWeb
(July 1984 - current)

Electronic Index: 1984 - current
Location: FirstSearch Database

Search Hints:

  • Use a subject search (ex. clinton bill).
  • This index includes all kinds of books and journals.
  • Search in the UNF Catalog by title of book or journal.

Biography Index

Print Index 1946 - 1984
Location: Index Coll - 3rd floor - CT100 .B6

Search Hints:

  • Find the author's last name.
  • Find the source by doing a title search in the UNF Catalog.

Directory of American Scholars

Location: Reference Coll - 2d floor - LA2311 .C32 5th

National Faculty Directory

Location: Reference Coll - 2d floor - L901 .N34 - Library retains latest two editions only

Hint:  If the author is not well known and you can find no biographical information, he/she may be a university professor or a young scholar. You can get his/her telephone number from the directory and call for a telephone interview.

Other Research Guides

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