English

This guide serves as a starting point for locating and evaluating information for English.

Library Research Guide

Book Reviews: Print Indices

Find citations for book reviews in print indices

When studying a book published before the 2000s, you may need to supplement your online search with print indices.

Print indices are large reference books that do not include the actual book review, but provide an index, or list, of the book reviews. The lists include the date of the review and the title, or abbreviation, for the journal/magazine/newspaper where that review was published.

Before starting your search, be sure you know the year the book was published and the author's last name.

Book review digest (1906-2011)

Instructions for using this index:

Go to Room 117, Hale Library and find the call number Z1219 .C96.
Select the volumes for the year your work of interest was published and for the following five years.
In each of the six volumes, find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under his/her name.
Copy down the list of book reviews for that work.
Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to change the abbreviations to full periodical title.

Combined retrospective index to book reviews in humanities journals, 1802-1974

Instructions for using this index:

Go to Room 117, Hale Library and find Z6265 .C65 1982.
Select the volume containing the last name of your author (e.g., Hemingway, Eliot).
Find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under his/her name.
Copy down the list of book reviews for that work.
Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to change the abbreviations to full journal names.

Combined retrospective index to book reviews in scholarly journals, 1886-1974

Instructions for using this index:

Go to Room 117, Hale Library and find Z1035.A1 C64.
Select the volume containing the last name of your author (e.g., Hemingway, Eliot).
Find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under his/her name.
Copy down the list of book reviews for that work.
Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to change the abbreviations to full journal title.

Find texts of the reviews:

Once you have the journal/magazine/newspaper title and the date the review was published,

Go to the Search It box on the Libraries' home page.
Enter the title of the journal/magazine/newspaper in the search box.
Choose the K-State Libraries Only option.
Click on the Search button.
If we have issues of the journal/magazine/newspaper in print or online, you should see a record for it.
Click on Find it at the Library to see which issues/dates we have.
Match the date the review was published to the dates we have. Use that information to locate the dates you need.

Note: we may not have every review in our collection. Use interlibrary loan to request a review that we do not own.

If you get stuck, Ask a Librarian!

Finding Book Reviews in Search It

Search for book reviews using the Search It box on the K-State Libraries home page.

1. Enter the book title in the search box

Shorten long titles to reduce typos. There are enough unique words in the title, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe to shorten it to Aristotle and Dante Discover.
Add the author's last name to a short title. The graphic novel series March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin can be searched: March Lewis or March Aydin.

2. Limit your results to Reviews. From the Search It results page look for Resource Type under the Refine My Results options on the left side of the screen. If Reviews is not an option on the short list, click More Options.

3. If we do not have it online or on the shelf, the Not Available? Request from Interlibrary Loan link appears under both tabs.

Databases: Book Reviews

Many of the essential English databases include the citations or full text of book reviews. One key exception is MLA International Bibliography, which does not include book reviews.

You can often limit your search results to display only the reviews.

Typically, if you cannot find a book review and your book was published before the 2000s, you would use the the Book Reviews: Print Indices information box for guidance. However, due to a fire in Hale Library on May 22, 2018, we do not currently have access to those indices.

American Periodicals
Publication Dates Covered: 1741-1941 Paid for by K-State Libraries

1. In the first box type the title of the work of interest inside quotation marks (e.g., "a farewell to arms")
2. In the second box type the last name of your author (e.g., Hemingway)
3. In the Publication Date option, select Specific date range… Enter the years of interest. Search a 5-10 year span, starting with the year of publication
4. Click Search
5. If you get too many articles, click Modify search at the top of the search results. Go to In the Document type box, click Review
JSTOR
Paid for by K-State Libraries

1. Click the "Advanced Search" link
2. In the first box, enter the title of the work of interest (e.g. Xenogenesis) Titles with more than one word should be inside quotation marks (e.g., "Adulthood Rights")
3. In the second box enter the last name of your author (e.g., Butler). You may need to add the author’s first name, particularly if the last name is common (e.g. Octavia Butler)
4. Under Item Type, click Reviews
5. Under Date Range, enter the date range of interest in the "From" and "To" boxes. Search a 5-10 year span, starting with the year of publication
6. Click Search
Literary Reference Center
Paid for by K-State Libraries

1. Enter the title in the search box (e.g. brief wondrous life of oscar wao)
2. Click Search
3. On the search results page, go to Sources Types on the left side of the screen. Click Reviews
New York Times, Historical
Publication Dates Covered: 1851-2013 Paid for by K-State Libraries

1. In the first box type the title of the work of interest inside quotation marks (e.g., "The namesake")
2. In the second box, enter the author's last name (e.g. Lahiri)
3. If needed, in the Publication Date option, select Specific date range... Enter the years of interest. Search a 5-10 year span, starting with the year of publication.
3. In the Document Type box, click on Reviews
4. Click Search
Times Digital Archive
Publication Dates Covered: 1785-2006 Paid for by K-State Libraries
1. Select Advanced Search
2. Enter the author and/or title in the search box
3. Select Reviews
4. Enter dates or select a time frame

Two databases re-post book reviews, primarily for popular books.

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Paid for by K-State Libraries
The CLCD is a complete source of information about children’s books, audio recordings, and films. Can search by age, genre, grade, reading metrics, and language. Also includes curriculum tools for lesson planning. Contains book awards and reviews from major publications such as Booklist, Horn Book, and Kirkus. All reviews of books are full text searchable.
NoveList Plus
Paid for by K-State Libraries
A book selection guide allowing readers, librarians, and researchers to search for recommended works of fiction and non-fiction. Includes book discussion guides and thematic and award-winning book lists.