1. Finding Book Reviews Library 101 Wednesday, September 30 Sheila Seaman

2. Book Reviews 4 Book reviews are usually published in journals, magazines, and newspapers after the book is first published 4 Book reviews written by experts in the discipline or subject area which are found in scholarly journals are the cream of the crop 4 Critics do not always agree and opinions change over time

3. Book reviews 4 Book reviews are a lot like film reviews in that they discuss both good and bad aspects of a book 4 Always try to read more than one book review 4 Since critics always differ in opinion, try to find a consensus

4. Why do you need book reviews? 4 Book reviews are written by people who give their opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of a book 4 Book reviews can tell you whether or not a book has made an outstanding contribution to its field 4 You need three of them for your final project

5. Where can I find book reviews? 4 Finding book reviews is a 2-step process. 4 First, you must use an index or database to find a citation for a review of you book. 4 Next, you must find out if the College owns the correct journal or newspaper volume and issue number for the cited review. 4 To reiterate: 1. Find citation. 2. Find journal or newspaper in the library.

6. Where can I find book reviews? 4 Book Review Digest This database can be found on the library homepage. You can search by the title or the author of the book. 4 Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities This paper can be found on the index tables. 4 New York Times Index These volumes index reviews written in the New York Times. They are in the reference area.

7. Paper Indexes?! 4 You must know the earliest copyright date of the book 4 Look for the book review index volume with that date 4 Also look at the index volumes up to two years after 4 More scholarly reviews always come out a little later

8. Locating the review 4 After you have found the citation for the book review, you must find the review itself. 4 Check the black book of College print serials holdings to see if the library owns the journal or newspaper. 4 Find the correct journal or newspaper volume and issue number for the review.

9. Using the reviews you’ve found 4 Do all the reviews agree? 4 Does the book make an outstanding contribution or add new material to the field? 4 Was the book compared to other books in the subject? If so, is it better or worse?

10. Words to remember: 4 Critics are paid to be critical, so sometimes you have to take book reviews with a grain of salt 4 Always look at more than one book review of a book 4 If there is a consensus between the reveiws, you can safely accept the group opinion

11. Citing your book review 4 Citing a book review is different than citing a journal or newspaper article! Observe: Review Author. “Review Title.” Rev. of Title of Book, by Author’s Name. Source of Review Publication information: page number(s).

12. Citing your book review 4 Here’s an example: Crutchfield, Will. “Pure Italian.” Rev. of Verdi: A Biography, by Mary Jane Phillips-Matz. New Yorker 31 Jan. 1994: 76-82. 4 Use the MLA handbook, 4.7.10

13. Don’t forget! 4 You need three book reviews for your final project. 4 Find reviews on books that you found in your Online Catalog Assignment.

14. Homework 4 Finding Book Reviews Assignment is due Wednesday, October 7.