Book Reviews are published in sources such as academic journals, popular magazines and newspapers. In order to find these reviews, you need to use a periodical index or database. Book reviews may be brief descriptive summaries or scholarly evaluative articles.
Steps to follow when searching for a book review:
First identify the author, title and publication date of the book in question.
Secondly, when possible, determine whether the book is Canadian, American or other. This information helps with your choice of database or index. For instance, if you are searching for a review of a book on Canadian history, start with a Canadian database such as CBCA Complete or the print index, Canadian Periodical Index. If the book is American, you might start with a database such as Academic Search Complete that is strong in American content.
Thirdly, select an index or database that covers the date your book was published. Book reviews tend to be published in either the same year as the book, or a year or two later. Note that many of our online databases only go back to 1982 and you may need to use the library's print indexes for reviews of older publications.
If using a print index, select the volume of the index that corresponds to the publication date of your book. If necessary, also check volumes in two subsequent years as academic reviews often appear two years after the publication date.
