Smith College Libraries Class Guides - ARH292: Art & History of the Book

Scholarly vs. Popular: How Can You Tell?

Is it aimed at a general or specialized readership?
Is the author an expert in the field?
Is the publication put out by a scholarly association or by a popular press?
Does the author cite the sources for conclusions (footnotes and/or bibliographies?)
Is the emphasis placed on arousing your emotions or appealing to your reason?

Citation Help

MLA Style

To get help with MLA style, visit the SC Libraries' Citation Guides & Style Manuals page.

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Getting Started

What do you need to start?

Book Title
Book Author(s)
Date of Publication

Remember that the more recent the book, the fewer scholarly reviews will have been written. Scholarly book reviews generally take longer to appear than popular ones.

Scholarly Book Review Sources

ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language & Literature) 1920+
Search for your book’s title and limit your search to book reviews.
Project Muse
Current and recent issues in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.
JSTOR
WARNING! JSTOR routinely EXCLUDES the most recent 2-5 years of its titles. Limit your search to reviews.
Book Review Index
ref Z 1035 .A1 B6 - Although this is a print index, its coverage is still excellent for scholarly book reviews on many topics.
Humanities Abstracts 1984+
A small number of journals – but of very high quality.
America: History and Life 1953+
Major database in American and Canadian history. Includes book reviews.
Historical Abstracts 1956+
Major database in world history excluding the U.S. Includes book reviews.
Academic Search Premier 1965+
Be sure to limit your results to Academic Journals.
Art Abstracts 1984+
Obviously especially useful for reviews from art journals – some of which will be popular and some scholarly.