Dunn Library

Books & Book Reviews

LIBRARY DATABASES FOR BOOKS

  • LIBRARY CATALOG - To search for books on a particular topic, use a Subject or a Keyword Search. In order to find book reviews, you usually need to know when the book was originally published, since reviews usually appear shortly after that. Use our catalog to find out the publication date for books in our collection. Use WorldCat, a FirstSearch database, for other books.
  • EUROPEAN LIBRARY - Access to the catalogs of of 30 European national libraries.
  • IOWA LIBRARIES - Links to the catalogs at other Iowa academic and nearby public libraries.
  • HARVARD THEATRUM CATALOGORUM - collates library catalogs from every major European country.
  • NETLIBRARY - Online books from netLibrary. Simpson College has access to some, but not all, of these books. A list of titles available to Simpson College is in the library catalog. When you find a title of interest, you may browse it for a brief period of time. To check out a netLibrary title for a longer time, follow the directions at the netLibrary site for creating a user account.
  • WORLDCAT - For comprehensive searching, by author, title, or subject, for books or other materials in U.S. or world libraries, use this FirstSearch database.

LIBRARY DATABASES FOR REVIEWS

  • EBSCOHOST—ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER - Search databases (together or separately) to access full-text periodicals, newspapers and reference tools. In the Academic Search Premier database, on the search screen under Limit your results, set the document type to "Book Review." In addition, you can limit to refereed journals, and/or to full-text online.
  • LexisNexis ACADEMIC - Comprehensive research database providing full-text access to various databases, including current news, business information, Hoover’s company records, company directories, federal and state laws, legal cases, medical and references.
  • LITERATURE RESOURCE CENTER - Access biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of more than 120,000 authors from every age and literary discipline.
  • NEW YORK TIMES: HISTORICAL - Online collection of The New York Times newspaper from the 1860's to 1990's. To search for book reviews, click on More Search Options then Article Type “Review”.

PRINT RESOURCES

  • Book Review Index - An annual index to published book reviews, author index first, followed by title index. (1965-) The set is shelved in Bound Periodicals.
  • Book Review Digest - An annual index to published book reviews, including brief excerpts from the reviews. (1905-1993) The set is shelved in Bound Periodicals.
  • Contemporary Authors - Available through Literature Resource Center.
  • Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature - An annual index to periodical articles, includes book reviews (in recent volumes listed at the back under "Book Reviews"). 1890-1997 are shelved in Simpson Storage.

WEB SOURCES

  • AMAZON.COM - Internet bookstore, with links to excerpts from reviews of many new titles.
  • BARNES & NOBLE - Internet bookstore, also with links to excerpts from reviews of many new titles.
  • BOOKFINDER.com - One-stop e-commerce search engine that searches over 150 million books for sale
  • GOOGLE - Current authors often have websites with biographical information. Some reviews are listed as well.
  • NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS - Current issue and archives.

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  • BIBLIOMANIA - Full texts of classic works.
  • CONNEXIONS - A place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses, books, reports, etc.
  • Connie Martinson Talks Books - More than 2,500 television interviews with prominent authors of fiction and nonfiction taped over the last 30 years.
  • ENGLISH LIBRARY - Full texts, from University of Toronto.
  • GOODREADS - Create a personal library of books.  Access  and share your catalog from anywhere.  Mission is to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.
  • LibraryThing - Create a personal library of books.  Access  and share your catalog from anywhere.
  • ONLINE BOOKS PAGE - Over 19,000 free online books available. Contains additional information regarding books.
  • PROJECT GUTENBERG: EASY ACCESS LINKS - Links to books (many of them outside of copyright restrictions), many from the past, some more recent. Read the instructions carefully on how to access and use the online materials.
  • SHELFARI - Create a personal library of books.  Access  and share your catalog from anywhere.  Mission is to enhance the experience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word.
  • Universal Digital Library - The primary long-term objective is to capture all books in digital format.

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Last Updated: 10/19/09