Textbooks and ebooks found in the Library's collection are edited and considered reliable. They have also been vetted for use in a course or the library's collection.

There are other factors to keep in mind when choosing a book as a source:

• Is the information up-to-date? Find the publication date and edition on either the title page or in the full database record for the title.
• Does the book cover your topic superficially or in-depth?
• Is the content too basic or too advanced for your information needs?

With more resources being published digitally, self-published books are becoming more prevalent. Evaluate these types of books thoroughly and use them with care, as self-published books may not:

• be edited
• include a publication date
• provide a balanced and impartial point of view
• be supported with evidence or research

Use the prompting questions in the Source Evaluation Quick Guide to thoroughly evaluate the quality and timeliness of the information in these books.

Book reviews are excellent sources of information when evaluating a book. Book reviews can be found in many journals and newspapers. Consider using the following library databases to find book reviews on a particular title. Tip: Type the title enclosed with quotation marks in the search textbox. You can select Book Review in EBSCO databases as a document type in the Advanced Search option.