Modern Languages

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. Click on the Online Articles. If we do not have it online or on the shelf, the Not Available? Request from Interlibrary Loan link is located on the bottom.

Many of the essential Modern Languages 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.

If you cannot find a book review and your book was published before the 2000s, see the Book Reviews: Print Indices box.

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

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 (1906-2009)

Instructions for using this index:

1. Go to the record for Book Review Digest in Search It.
2. Follow the link to "Sign-in for your loan options" and sign in with your K-State eID and password.
3. Locate the volumes for the year your work of interest was published and for the following five years.
   • For each volume, click "Request Retrieval," select your pickup location (any of K-State's libraries), and Send Request.
   • You will receive an email notifying you when the books are at your pickup location
4. In each of the six volumes, find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under their last name/family name.
5. Copy down the list of book reviews for that work.  
6. Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to learn the full title of the magazine or journal.

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

Instructions for using this index:

1. Go to Hale Library's 4th floor and find Z6265 .C65 1982.
2. Select the volume containing the last name/family name of your author (e.g., Hemingway, Eliot).
3. Find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under their last name/family name.
4. Copy down the list of book reviews for that work. 
5. Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to learn the full title of the magazine or journal.

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

Instructions for using this index:

1. Go to Hale Library's 4th floor and find Z1035.A1 C64. 
2. Select the volume containing the last name/family name of your author (e.g., Hemingway, Eliot).
3. Find the entry for your author and then the individual work of interest listed under their last name/family name.
4. Copy down the list of book reviews for that work. 
5. Use the list of source abbreviations in the front of the volume to learn the full title of the magazine or journal.

Find texts of the reviews:

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

1. Go to the Search It boxes on the Libraries' home page.
2. Make sure Search It is selected for the first box
3. Select By Title for the second box
4. Enter the title of the journal/magazine/newspaper in the third box.
5. Click on the magnifying glass icon or hit Enter on your keyboard.
6. If we have issues of the journal/magazine/newspaper in print or online, you should see a record for it.
7. Click on the title to see which issues/dates we have.
8. 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!