STS 301 : Technology & Culture: Books & Book Reviews

You can search the library catalog for keywords and subject headings. What's the difference?

A keyword is a word used anywhere in the catalog record- title, author, summary, wherever. Subject headings are words that are specifically applied to express what the book is mostly about. Using both will help you find the most relevant results.

Consider starting with a keyword search to get the broadest range of results. Then, when you find a book that is especially good, look for its subject headings. In the catalog, subject headings are a link you can click to find other books about that same subject. You can also make a note of those headings to use them as search terms in other databases:

Avoid general newspaper reviews and personal book reviews, like those on blogs or on amazon.com. These can't help you analyze your book like  a scholar. Two tips for finding book review:

• Check to see when your book was published. If it was published more than twenty years ago, and you aren't finding reviews online, you'll need to look beyond online sources and check print indexes.
• If you're having trouble finding a review, check with a librarian for help and to cover all your bases, but remember that some books are never reviewed. If that's the case, think about what that might mean about the book's scholarly importance.

To find more scholarly book reviews from the last twenty years or so, first try searching your book title in Primo, which often returns book reviews along with information about the book itself.

Then try one of the databases below. You may find some book reviews by searching the book's title in Summit, as well, but be aware that this isn't comprehensive!

• Academic Search Premier  
  Finds reviews for books published from about 1975-present Limit to book reviews: Before you run your search, scroll down to 'Document Type' and limit to 'Book Review.' Use the author's last name and a keyword from the book title in your search.
• JSTOR  
  Search for books published from the 1800s up to about five years ago. To limit to reviews: click Advanced Search, then check 'review.'
• Research Library
  Search for books published from 1986 up to the present. To limit your search to book reviews, use Advanced Search, click and expand the gray tab labeled 'More Search Options', and select Review > Book Review under 'Document Type'.
• America: History and Life 
Select the "Advanced Search" option. Type (in quotation marks) the title of the book for which you seek reviews. Under the limiter options, select "book review" in the "Document Type" category.

For older books, you will need to use print indexes to book reviews. At Collins, try the following print resources, all found in the library's Reference section.