Editorial consideration
Choice Reviews
Academic librarians and faculty selecting for undergraduate and college collections
In short
Choice is a review magazine for the librarians who buy books for college and university libraries, run by the academic wing of the American Library Association. A review there is one of the few ways a scholarly nonfiction book reaches hundreds of college libraries at once, though Choice can only cover a quarter to a third of what it receives. Publishers mail a finished printed copy within three months of publication; ask your press whether it sent one. Fiction, poetry, children's books, self-help, and textbooks are not reviewed.
Submission does not guarantee coverage. The outlet decides whether and what it publishes.
Choice is the review publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It publishes about 350 reviews a month across roughly 50 academic specialties, written for the librarians and faculty who build undergraduate collections.
Choice reviews finished books only. It does not accept bound galleys, uncorrected advance reader copies, or page proofs. Publishers mail a finished copy, hardcover preferred when both bindings exist, as soon as it is available and within three months of publication. Titles must be current, meaning published within the last academic year; anything older than six months is scrutinized and sent out only if it seems particularly important. Materials aren't paid for and aren't returned.
Monographs get the highest priority, along with well-documented trade titles, university press books, and small and alternative presses. Choice does not review materials for children, contemporary fiction and poetry, self-help, strictly professional works, reprints, textbooks, or foreign-language materials. It is able to review only 25 to 30 percent of what it receives.
Why it may matter
Academic library selectors use Choice as a primary source, and a Choice review is one of the few ways a scholarly or serious nonfiction title reaches hundreds of college libraries at once. An Outstanding Academic Title designation is widely used in academic library marketing. Submission does not guarantee a review.
Do not confuse this with
Choice has no paid review track. Its editorial reviews are separate from any advertising, sponsored webinars, or promotional programs Choice sells to publishers. Only the editorial review is what academic librarians treat as a review.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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