How to Find a Book Review

A book review is a form of criticism that describes and evaluates a recently published book. Reviews usually appear in newspapers or magazines soon after a book is published.

General Sources of Book Reviews

Bound Volumes
To find reviews you will need to know the title of the book, the year the book was first published, and the name of the book's author.

1. Look in the index for the year your book was first published.
2. Look in the indexes for the next two years. Some book reviews may
   appear a year or more after the book is published.
3. It is useful to try more than one of the above sources since each one
   covers a different group of magazines.
4. When you find a review, check the MCC Library Catalog to see if we
   have the magazine and where to find it.

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Electronic Sources
Go to the Library's website http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library, click
"Find articles and online databases" then choose one of the databases listed below. If off-campus, click "Access from Home" and follow directions to log-in to EZproxy.

1. Search on "book review" and the title of your book.
2. Use electronic databases to search for reviews on books that have
   been published within the last five to ten years. You must use the bound
   indexes to find reviews of books published before that period. In most
   cases the electronic databases only began indexing magazines a
   few years.

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Other Sources of Book Reviews

The following sources may be useful if the subject matter of the book falls into areas covered by these indexes.

The book reviews are usually listed at the end of each volume in the
"book reviews" section:

• Applied Science and Technology Index
• Art Index
• Education Index
• General Science Index
• Humanities Index
• Social Sciences Index

Listed under the subject "book reviews":

• Criminal Justice Periodical Index

Any questions? Ask the Librarian at the Information Desk for help!

L. Annesi, Revised 9/2007, http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library

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