Northwestern University Library licensed Book Citation Index (BKCI) for use by the Northwestern University community soon after it first launched in October 2011. Content for the Book Citation Index comprises scholarly books and book series, both electronic and print, that present fully referenced articles of original research or reviews of the literature, and has been carefully selected based on well-defined criteria. Coverage extends back to 2005. Books from a variety of commercial, non-profit and university presses worldwide are indexed at the chapter level. In January 2013, it was announced that partnerships have been expanded to incorporate books from additional publishers, such as Elsevier, Johns Hopkins University Press and the University of Chicago Press. It is planned that 10,000 books will be added in 2013, increasing the total to nearly 50,000 books.

Book Citation Index has two parts, Book Citation Index for Science (BKCI-S) and Book Citation Index for Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-SSH). The Web of Science search system is the gateway to these two indexes, and the default Web of Science search includes all of the Northwestern University library licensed citation databases. By appropriately marking the check boxes, one can also search one or both of these indexes separately from other Thomson Reuters citation databases, namely Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index.

Searching BKCI should be familiar to those who have searched other Thomson Reuters citation databases. It may be useful for searching to identify Northwestern University faculty authored books, book chapters, book series (search by the organization name, Northwestern University). Additionally, if the book or book chapter has been cited, links will be provided to the Web of Science reference where it was cited. The “Find it @ NU” link icon included with each reference will lead to various options for finding the book / book chapter, either leading to full-text online, information on print holdings by one of the NU libraries, or document delivery options.