Book reviews written at the time a book was published are an excellent source for contextual research. To find a book review, it is important to know the author’s full name, title of the book, and the year of the book's publication. Remember that the great majority of books never get reviewed at all. Also, reviews do not always appear the same year that the book was published. You may have to check indexes for a year or two following the publication date. Finally, remember that indexes usually cover certain dates. If your book was written in 1925, for example, you will use an index other than one that covers contemporary novels. In the Sage Colleges Libraries several sources of historical book reviews are available, including:
Book Review Digest: 1903-1982 
Provides excerpts from and citations to reviews of fiction and non-fiction. Some full-text links available.
JSTOR Language & Literature
This collection spans the literary cultures of many different countries, containing articles in several languages, including Arabic, Italian and German. (dates of coverage vary)
Literary Reference Center
A literary database that combines information from books, monographs, reference works and journals. (dates of coverage vary)
America's Historical Newspapers
A collection of historical New York State newspapers from 1730 to 1913.
Proquest Historical Newspapers (dates range but begin as early as 1764):
Provides excerpts from and citations to reviews of fiction and non-fiction. Some full-text links available.
JSTOR Language & Literature
This collection spans the literary cultures of many different countries, containing articles in several languages, including Arabic, Italian and German. (dates of coverage vary)
Literary Reference Center
A literary database that combines information from books, monographs, reference works and journals. (dates of coverage vary)
America's Historical Newspapers
A collection of historical New York State newspapers from 1730 to 1913.
Proquest Historical Newspapers (dates range but begin as early as 1764):
- Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe (1872-1982)
Full text of the Boston Globe from 1872 to 1982. - Historical Newspapers: Hartford Courant (1764-1988)
Full text of the Hartford Courant from 1764 to 1988. - Historical Newspapers: New York Tribune (1841-1922)
Full text of the New York Tribune from 1841 to 1922. - Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2010)
Full text of the New York Times from 1851 to 2010. Also contains the Historical New York Times with Index (1851-1993), which provides search capability using subject terms and topics.
You may also wish to consult the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature (1900-1989) which is a print index located in the Shea Learning Center Library.
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Chris White Systems Librarian [email protected] 518-244-4521 |