bibliography archival sources

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Citing Archival Resources

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This resource discusses conducting research in a variety of archives. It also discusses a number of considerations and best practices for conducting archival research.

This resources was developed in consultation with Purdue University Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections staff.

Once you have determined which materials are relevant to your research, you will need to know how to reference them properly in your paper or project. Citation is one important challenge you must face when working with archives. Because archivists strive to preserve the unique order of collections when they are donated, universal guidelines for citing archival sources have not been established. However, we suggest the following methods based on best scholarly practices.

How to Cite Archival Materials

You have two viable options for citing archival sources.

• Check the archives website or contact them for a preferred citation.
• Use the adapted MLA citation we propose below.

If you choose Option 1, first check the website of the library or archival system, which may contain guidelines, or LibGuides, for referencing their artifacts. Here's an example of a Purdue University LibGuide .

You may also call or email the archival staff to obtain or ask questions about preferred citation practices.

If you choose Option 2, you will need to adapt the MLA citation format to meet your needs. To start, refer to the MLA citation practices most relevant to the particular genre of your materials. For example, the most recent MLA handbook will contain citation guidelines for comic books, film strips, commercials, photographs, etc. Next, include as much detail as possible to help a fellow researcher locate your artifact in a given archive. Depending on the system in place, you should refer to box numbers, folders, collections, archives name, institutional affiliation and location. Since archives are dynamic in the sense that collections may be sold, donated to another archives, reorganized and in extreme cases damaged or lost, you should also include the date accessed.

The following example is based on a combination of MLA citation practices and the Purdue LibGuide:

Genre-appropriate MLA Citation. Box number, Folder number. Unique identifier and collection name. Archives name, Institutional affiliation, Location. Date accessed.

Summers, Clara. Letter to Steven Summers. 29 June 1942. Box 1, Folder 1. MSP 94 Steven and Clara Summers papers. Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. 20 May 2013.

While these two citation options are recommended, you should consult with your publisher or instructor to determine what information they value most in your citation.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Citing archival sources.

Citing a primary source document from an archives varies depending on the preference of your instructor, the publication or article you are submitting, or the discipline in which you are operating. Please see our suggestions on how to cite archival material using APA, and Chicago citation styles below for examples.

Just like with printed material such as books and journal articles; using direct quotes or paraphrasing from archival material requires citations for sources. 

Regardless of what style you are required to use for your research, all archival material citations will contain the following basic elements:

Title:  Title of the file or item. If material is untitled, provide a short description.

Name of Collection:  Name of the collection that the file or item being cited is a part of. 

Collection Number:  Special number associated with a particular collection.

For Example: Roebling Collection (MC 4), or George Low collection (1987-12).

Box Number, Folder Number:  The number of the box and folder where the material is physically stored.

Repository:  The name of the archives and where it is geographically located. 

Citations for Archival Material

Archives documents and collections are not included in the  APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition . Please consult the  APA Style  website for more details on standards and procedures. For more information on how to cite additional archival formats, consult the APA Style page on  Archival Documents and Collections . 

Reference List Basic Format 

Author last name, First Initial. (year month day). Title [Description of material]. Name of collection (Collection number or identifier, Box number, Folder number). Name of repository, Location of repository. Retrieved from URL if applicable.

In-text Citation Basic Format

(Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year)

About Chicago Style for Archival Materials

There are two different systems for citing sources in Chicago Style:  Notes and Bibliography  and  Author-Date . Be sure to check your assignment to determine which citation style you should use.

Be sure to consult  The Chicago Manual of Style  or the  online quick guide  for detailed standards and procedures. Most of the guidelines for citing archival material can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style under sections for “Manuscript Collections.” 

Notes and Bibliography

In the Notes and Bibliography system, sources are cited at the bottom of the page in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are then listed in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper.

Notes - General Format

• 1. Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection number or identifier, box number, folder number, Collection Name, Name of Repository, Location of Repository. URL if applicable.
• In a note, the title of the item should be cited first and quotation marks are only used for specific titles. If they are part of the heading appearing on the manuscript, they can be capitalized, but if used only as descriptors, they can be lowercase.

Notes - Shortened 

• Subsequent citations for the same document, or if using other documents from the same collection, may be shortened. The shortened form is added in brackets at the end of the first citation.

First Citation

• Typescript of short story “Red Shoes” by John M Weatherwax, n.d., SPC.2015.005, box 2, folder 5, John M. Weatherwax Collection, Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA (hereafter cited as Typescript, John M. Weatherwax Collection).

Subsequent Citation

• Typescript, John M. Weatherwax Collection.

Bibliography - General Format

• Last Name, First Name of author. Name of Collection. Name of Repository, Location of Repository.
• In a bibliography, references should be listed alphabetically and begin either with the name of the collection or the last name of the author. 
• If only using one item from a collection, you may include the title or a description of the item in the bibliography.
• Example: Weatherwax, John M. Typescript of short story “Red Shoes”, n.d., John M. Weatherwax Collection. Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA.

In Chicago Style, I'm Citing a...

1. Lilian Horsford to Mary Katherine Horsford, October 19th, 1910, MC 50, box 50, folder 11, Horsford Family Papers, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Bibligraphy

Horsford Family Papers. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

2. Photograph of Main Building exterior, n.d., Photograph Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

3. Aime Dupont Studio photograph of [Emily Warren Roebling], n.d., Roebling Collection, box 32, folder 11, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

The use of “n.d.” in the first example indicates that the photograph does not have a date.

Bibliography

Photograph Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Roebling Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Text Document

Some examples of text documents can include: notes, typescripts, manuscripts, clippings, and diaries.

4. Typescript of "Lecture I. Mental Habits for a Student" by Rev. Dr. Nathan S. Beman, circa 1850, 1988-14, box 3. Small Collections, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Nathan S. Beman Lecture. Small Collections. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Graphic Material

Some examples of graphic material can include: cartoons, comics, prints, drawings, and broadsides.

5. Manhattan Iron & Glass workers, painted sketch, n.d. MC 43 Frederic Dana Marsh Collection, box 1, folder 8, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Frederic Dana Marsh Collection. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Some examples of ephemera can include: broadsides, postcards, and posters.

6. Troy, St. Josephs Seminary, postcard, 1909, AC 15 Postcard Collection, box 3, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

If using an approximate date, place the date in brackets and add a question mark to indicate uncertainty.

1909 AC 15 Postcard Collection. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Institute Archives & Special Collections

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110 8th Street, Troy NY 12180

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Q. How do I cite archival sources?

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Answered By: Elizabeth Galoozis (she/her) Last Updated: Apr 22, 2022     Views: 38025

Citing a primary source document from an archive varies by citation style (for example, MLA). Most citation styles require the following information to create a citation:

• the creator or author,
• specific item title, page, section,
• box and file number,
• and the name of the archive.

MLA Citation Style

MLA format from Purdue OWL : Genre-appropriate MLA Citation. Box number, Folder number. Unique identifier and collection name. Archives name, Institutional affiliation, Location. Date accessed.

MLA Example: Brittain, Vera. Letter to XYZ. 29 June 1950. Box 4, Folder 1. Coll2009-004 Lesbian Legacy Collection Subject Files. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern CA, Los Angeles, CA. 11 Aug. 2015.

Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style  refers to archival collections as "Manuscript Collections." For more detailed guidance, check out sections 14.232-14.242 .

Chicago Notes Example: Photograph, "Lisa Ben" [ca. 1965], Box 4, Folder 1, Lesbian Legacy Collection Subject Files, ONE Archives at USC Libraries, USC, Los Angeles, CA.

If you've cited one item from an archival collection, the name of the item or its creator is usually the main element in the bibliography entry. If you've cited more than one item from an archival collection, the name of the collection is usually the main element in the bibliography entry.

Chicago Bibliography Example if using multiple items from the collection: Ben, Lisa, Lesbian Legacy Collection Subject Files. ONE Archives at USC Libraries, University of Southern, CA. Los Angeles, CA.

These are called archival documents (e.g., a diary, limited-circulation brochure or pamphlet, unpublished manuscript); see Section 10.8 of the Publication Manual   of the Psychological Association , 7th edition for additional information and examples.

APA General Format: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Day). Title. [Description of Material]. Name of Collection (Call number, box number, file number, etc.). Name of Repository, location.

APA Example: Brittain, V. (1950, June 1). [Letter to XYZ]. Lesbian Legacy Collection Subject Files (Box 4, Folder 1. Coll2009-004). ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Los Angeles, CA.

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Chicago: archival material.

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APA and MLA

Citing archival collections in apa format.

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day).  Title of material . [Description of  material]. Name of Collection (Call number, Box number, File name or  number, etc.). Name of Repository, Location.

Citing archival collections in MLA format

Author (last name, first name). Title/description of material. Date (day month year). Call number, identifier or box/folder/item number. Collection name. Name of repository, location.

When working in an Archive, note the following information to include in your citation:

• Folder number
• Collection name
• Author or photographer
• Relevant dates
• If referencing clippings, photocopies, or scans from publications, the name of the publication copied/clipped from is required

Chicago and other citation styles follow the National Archives citation requirements, found in this helpful document created by the National Archives:  https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/general-info-leaflets/17-citing-records.pdf

Elements to include ( Rule )

Footnotes: format ( rule ,  examples ), bibliography: format ( rule & examples ), frequently asked difficult questions.

• General Rules for Citing Archival Material (14.221: Manuscript Collections)
• See for more info: Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States Need more examples or helpful information? The Chicago Manual of Style also recommends looking at this "pamphlet" produced by the National Archives on citing archival material.
• Citing republished/bound primary sources (14.260: Citations taken from secondary sources) When possible, always find and cite the original. If this is absolutely impossible, you may need to cite a primary source that is republished in a secondary source.
• Include a URL, but don't do full "website" format (14.7: Uniform resource locators (URLs)) If it's a letter that was digitized and put online, cite it as a letter with a URL at the end; don't cite it like a website just because it's online. Don't include a URL for a finding aid; just for a digitized version of the item itself.
• How to spell an author's name (14.73: Form of author’s name)
• On anonymous works (14.79: No listed author (anonymous works))
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Citing Primary Sources

Elements for citing archival sources.

• Getting Started

Item Creator & Description

Item location, collection name, holding library.

• Archival Sources - Example Citations
• Elements for Citing Digital Collections
• Digital Collections - Example Citations

Because of the wide array of things archival researchers need to cite, style guides offer more flexibility in citing rare materials than they do for articles or recent books. At the same time, you need to provide detailed citations that provide the information a future researcher would need to find their way to the same item you saw. In your citation you’ll want to include as many of these elements as you can:

• Item creator and description
• Item location
• Collection name
• Holding library

This guide is based on the Chicago Manual of Style, but those basic elements will be the same, no matter which style guide you’re using.

Other Style Guides

Need more advice on citing archival items using MLA or APA? Here’s what they have to say:

• MLA Style Center: A Guide to Citing Material from Physical Archives and Collections
• MLA Style Center: Citing Artifacts in a Digital Archive
• APA Style: Archival Documents and Collections

Item Creator & Description : Who created the item you’re using and what is it? The creator could be the person who wrote a letter, an organization that created a flier, or a business which produced an advertisement. Sometimes the creator of an item may be the same as the creator of the collection you found it in, but just as often it’s someone else. 

Many items in archives don’t have a clear title, but you’ll still need to identify the item you used so a future researcher will know they’re looking at the same item you did. You'll want to give a title or description, and possibly the type or format of the item. 

Item Date : When was this item created? Sometimes it's easy and there's a clear date on your item. If it doesn't have a date, include your best guess using “ca.” to indicate “circa” or put the date in brackets. If you really can't tell, it's okay to use "n.d." to indicate "no date."

Item location : Where did you find this? This may be the name or number of the folder, the particular series within a collection, and/or the number of the box or volume you found this document in. Some of our collections are big! Give others a clue where to look.

Collection Name: The full name of the collection you're working with. You can find this at the top of a collection guide or in the catalog record. It’s probably on the physical box as well, but double check because sometimes we use abbreviations on boxes or names get changed. For digital collections, this will be the title of the digital collection. Our digital collections list this in the right sidebar.

Holding Library: The library, archive, or institution where you saw the item you’re citing. Depending on the collections you're using here, this will be "Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University" or just "David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University." If you're not sure, check the collection guide or ask us. Some institutions (Yale University, Library of Congress, many others) have more than one affiliated archives, so be specific. For well known-institutions you don’t need to provide the location, but do include it if it’s a repository with multiple locations, like the National Archives, or if it could be confused with another institution.  

Gratefully adapted from a guide created by Maureen Callahan , Smith College Special Collections

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Archival Sources

Like any other source, citing an archival source is necessary if you use direct quotes or paraphrase from it in your paper or presentation. However, it can be challenging due to the special nature of archival sources.

Archival sources are original texts, images, recordings, and other materials that have historical significance and are generally unique. Because they are unpublished, they are also often called manuscript collections. Unpublished typewritten documents are generally classified as manuscripts. 

The Oakland University Archives contains archival sources that document the history of the university.

Special Collections  hold original materials on Oakland County history, Civil War history, women's studies, and other topics.

Fortunately, there are various resources available to assist you in the process of appropriately crediting your archival sources. This guide will provide resources and examples of how to do this.

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About Chicago Manual of Style citation for archival material

Chicago Manual of Style has two systems for citing course: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date . Check your assignment or ask your professor if you are uncertain about which citation style you should use.

Be sure to consult  The Chicago Manual of Style  or the  online quick guide  for detailed standards and procedures. Most of the guidelines for citing archival material can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style under sections for “Manuscript Collections.”

Notes and Bibliography

In the Notes and Bibliography system, sources are cited at the bottom of the page in numbered footnotes, or at the end of each section or chapter in numbered endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. In some cases, sources are then listed in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper.

1. Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Reference code, Collection name, Repository name, Location of repository. URL if applicable.

In a note, the title of the item should be cited first. Use quotation marks only for specific titles, not for generic terms like  report  or  letter . Capitalize generic terms if they are part of the heading appearing on the manuscript. Generic terms should be lowercased if they are only used as descriptors.

Subsequent citations for the same document, or if using other documents from the same collection, may be shortened. The shortened form is added in parentheses at the end of the first citation.

First Citation

Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters by Budge Wilson, 2000, MS-2-650.2013-070, Box 3, Folder 9, Budge Wilson fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (hereafter cited as Typescript, Budge Wilson fonds).

Subsequent Citation

Typescript, Budge Wilson fonds.

Bibliography

Last Name, First Name of author. Collection name. Repository name, Location of Repository.

In a bibliography, the citation usually begins with the name of the collection or the last name of the author. List citations alphabetically. Only cite individual items when you have referenced only a single item from a collection. 

Wilson, Budge. Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wilson, Budge. Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters, 2000, Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I'm citing a...

Correspondence from Henry Davies Hicks to the Annapolis County electorate, 24 October 1956, MS-2-511, Box 15, Folder 9, Henry Davies Hicks fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Henry Davies Hicks fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Textual document

Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters by Budge Wilson, 2000, MS-2-650.2013-070, Box 3, Folder 9, Budge Wilson fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Photograph of Andy McKay's installation as Dalhousie president, February 1981, MS-4-250, Box 74, Folder 7, Wamboldt-Waterfield Photographic Collection, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wamboldt-Waterfield Photographic Collection. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Graphic material

Some examples of graphic material can include: drawings, posters, paintings, cartoons, comics, prints, and broadsides.

Costume design for Andromache and son, 1992, MS-3-18, Box 6, Folder 5, Item 5, Robert Doyle fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.  https://findingaids.library.dal.ca/costume-design-for-andromache-and-son . 

Robert Doyle fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Some examples of ephemera can include: postcards, posters, pamphlets, and broadsides.

Poster for Dalhousie Student Union event, "In Search of the Supernatural," 1986, MS-1-Ref, Box 16, Folder 27, Dalhousie University Reference Collection, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Dalhousie University Reference Collection. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Author-Date

In-text citation.

Basic Format: (Collection Title Date)

Dates of individual items should be mentioned in the text, when applicable. In such cases, it is not necessary to add the date along with the collection title in parentheses.

Basic Format: Collection Name. Repository Name, Repository Location. URL.

I'm citing...

Multiple items from one collection

In-text citation

Hicks outlined his position in a letter to the Annapolis County electorate dated October 24, 1956 (Henry Davies Hicks fonds).

Single item from one collection

Hicks, Henry Davies. 24 October 1956. Letter from Henry Davies Hicks to the Annapolis County electorate. MS-2-511, Box 15, Folder 9, Henry Davies Hicks fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Archives and Special Collections: Citing Archival Sources

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Citing Archival Collections

Some vocabulary:.

• Item : the individual correspondence, or notes, or diary, etc.
• Box 2, Folder 4. 
• Series 5, Subseries 2.
• Box 4-3, Folder 3.
• Collection : items are organized into collections, usually by their subject or donor. For example, two of our collections are the Ben Bagdikian Papers and Manuscripts , and the Papers of Robert H. Goddard .
• Repository :  collections are stored in a repository, another name for the Archive.  Refer to this repository as Clark University Archives and Special Collections.  We are located in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Which style should I use?

Use  Chicago Style  for B usiness, H istory, and F ine Arts.

Use  APA (American Psychological Association) Style  for E ducation, P sychology and Sociology, and sciences.

Use  MLA (Modern Language Association) Style  for humanities (English, Philosophy, etc.)

Chicago Style

Note form (footnotes or endnotes).

In the notes, cite the individual item, the date, identifier if there is one, collection name, and name and repository of the collection.

For example, a footnote might look like this:

1. Correspondence from Olive Higgins Prouty to Lewis Prouty, 21 January 1919, Box 6, Folder 1, Olive Higgins Prouty Papers, Archives and Special Collections at Clark University, Worcester, MA.

Bibliography

Separate primary source materials and secondary source materials with section headers.

If you are citing more than one item from an archival collection, cite the collection as a whole:  Collection name. Repository, location.

Robert H. Goddard Papers. Clark University Archives and Special Collections, Worcester, MA.

If you are citing one item from a collection, cite only the individual item:

Prouty, Olive Higgins. Correspondence from Olive Higgins Prouty to Lewis Prouty. 21 January 1919. Box 6, Folder 1. Olive Higgins Prouty Papers. Archives and Special Collections, Clark University, Worcester, MA.

APA style uses Parenthetical or Narrative style in-text citations, depending on whether the citation is all at the end of the statement, or incorporated into the text of the article.  Cite archival material as you would other material, using the author and date.

Parenthetical: (Goddard, 1920)  Narrative: Goddard (1920)

Reference List

If only one item from a collection is cited, list the specific item:

Goddard, R. H. (1920  [Letter from R.H. Goddard to E.E. Aldrin] . Robert H. Goddard Papers (Box 2-1-3), Archives and Special Collections, Clark University, Worcester, MA, United States.

If multiple items from a collection are cited, list the collection:

Goddard, R. H. (1920). [ Letter from R.H. Goddard to E.E. Aldrin ]. Archives and Special Collections (Robert H. Goddard Papers, Box 2-1-3), Clark University, Worcester, MA, United States.

• APA Guidelines on Archival Documents and Collections

MLA uses the author, date format for in-text citations. That means that in the text of the article or essay, you will record the author and date in a way that will differentiate this source from others in your bibliography.  This usually appears at the end of the sentence in parentheses (parenthetical citation).  Here are two examples:

(Carroll Wright, "The Results of the Massachusetts Public School System", 1879).

Works Cited:

In your works cited page, you will need to list the full citation for each item you have cited.  For example:

Wright, Carroll. "The Results of the Massachusetts Public School System," January 7, 1879.  Papers of Carroll D. Wright, Archives and Special Collections, Clark University, box 2-3-2, folder 18.

• MLA GUide to Citing Physical Archival Materials
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• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023 10:34 AM
• URL: https://clarku.libguides.com/archives

Citing Special Collections materials in Chicago/Turabian style: Citing Primary Materials in Special Collections

Citing primary sources.

This guide contains the following sections (click to link directly to the section you need)

Citing Primary Sources - Overview

Citing manuscript collections in print and online, citing oral histories in special collections, citing maps, citing photographs, citing previously published magazine and newspaper articles found in manuscript collections.

This page includes citation examples for different kinds of primary sources using the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) , 16th edition, and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 8th edition. This guide shows how to create an initial citation, a subsequent note, and a bibliography entry for primary sources.

Materials covered include:

• Manuscript & Document Collections
• Oral Histories
• Maps and Illustrations
• Photographs
• Digitized materials from our website

A word about "Preferred Citation" and "Citation" information in Special Collections' finding aids: 

Nearly all Special Collections finding aids include basic citation information. Sometimes it's labeled "Preferred Citation," and other times it's  labeled "Citation."  This information typically includes the following information:

• the name of the collection (such as "Ernest A. Mills Family Collection")
• the name of the repository - D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections
• the location of the repository - University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC 28804

The other details needed for a citation (such as the name of the item, the author of the item, and the box and folder number) will emerge during your research.

If you have any questions about citing materials from Special Collections, ask one of the Special Collections staff or your professor .

From the finding aid for the Frank Coxe Papers:

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item],Frank Coxe Papers, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804

From the finding aid for the Carolina Mountain Club Archives:

Carolina Mountain Club Archive , D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Example 1: Citing a document from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Carolina Mountain Club finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information as you conduct your research . 

For instance, you might be working with the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, and you want to cite a specific document, the "Certificate of Incorporation of the Carolina Mountain Club" which is dated September 2, 1924. You found this document in Folder 19 in Box 15. There is a corporate author, the Carolina Mountain Club. (For more detailed information on citing manuscript collections, see the "Manuscript Collections" section of the Chicago Manual of Style , 16th edition, sections 14.232-14.242, pp. 749-752.)

So you have your document and you want to cite it. Now what? Let's take a look at how this would work:

Note (First mention, full reference):

        1. Carolina Mountain Club , " Certificate of Incorporation of the Carolina Mountain Club," 2 September 1924, Box 15, Folder 19, Carolina Mountain Club Archives, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Note that this is a full reference. The first line is indented.
• If the author is an individual, their name should be listed with the first name then last name (Frank Coxe).
• Sometimes you will not have an author. In this case, start the note with the name or title of the item.
• If the item has a specific title, as this one does, then that title is in quotation marks. If the item does not have a title but only a description it does not go in quotation marks.
• If the item does not have a date use the phrase n.d. (for no date) 
• Use a comma after all the elments in the note and a period at the end of the note. 

Note (Subsequent mentions, shortened reference):     

        7. Carolina Mountain Club , " Certificate of Incorporation."

• The shortened reference refers to a work that has already been cited in full form but not in a note immediately preceding it (which takes the ibid form ).
• The first line is indented, but the note only requires the author's name and the title of the document (which is sometimes shortened).

Bibliography:

• The first line is not indented, but the second line and all following lines are indented.
• Use a period after the collection name, after the repository name, and at the end of the bibliography entry.
• While the note included the item or document being cited, the bibliography does not include specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited. Then you would list the individual item in addition to the collection, repository, and repository location.
• For instance, if you cited two or more items from this collection, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from this collection then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Example 2: Citing a personal letter from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Frank Coxe Papers finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information as you conduct your research . 

Let's say you're working with the Frank Coxe Papers and you find a letter you want to cite. The letter is from A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe, and it was written on March 25, 1889. You found this letter in Folder 6 in Box 2. While this is similar to the Carolina Mountain Club example above it varies in how you cite the names of individuals and how you cite the actual letter. 

        1. A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe,  25 March 1889, Box 2, Folder 6, Frank Coxe Papers, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Since the author is an individual rather than a corporate author, his name should be listed with the first name then last name (A.B. Harris). The same holds true for the recipient of the letter (Frank Coxe).
• Sometimes you will not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after every element of the note and a period at the end of the note. 
• After you’ve listed one full reference, any other footnote/endnote citing this specific source will use a shortened reference or ibid.

  Note (Subsequent mentions, shortened reference):     

       7. A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe , 25 March 1889, Coxe Papers. 

  Bibliography:

Coxe, Frank., Papers .  D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville,        Asheville, NC.      

• Because this collection contains the papers of an individual, the collection name is listed with the person's last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name, then a comma, then "Papers," then a period: Coxe, Frank., Papers .
• While the note cites an individual item or document, the bibliography entry does not list specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited . In that case the bibliography will include the individual item in addition to the collection, repository, and repository location.
• In other words, if you cited two or more items from the Frank Coxe Paper, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from the Frank Coxe Papers in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Harris, A. B., and Frank Coxe. Letter of 25 March 1889. Frank Coxe Papers.  D. H.        Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

Example 3: Citing an online document from a manuscript collection

The Chicago Manual of Style states that "It should be noted that citations of collections consulted online... will usually be the same as citations of physical collections, aside from the addition of a URL or DOI." (14.232, p 749)

How does this work?

Let's say you are researching the building of the Battery Park Hotel and using the Frank Coxe Papers. You find this doucment in the Western North Carolina Heritage website (which is part of Special Collections at UNC Asheville):  "Specificiations for Standard Hydraulic Passenger Elevator to be manufactured by Otis Brothers & Co." The document is dated February 24, 1886, and is a digitized document from the Frank Coxe Papers. The corporate author is Otis Brothers & Co. The URL is http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15733coll5/id/13. 

Here's how you would cite this:

• Use a comma after every element in the note and a period at the end of the note. 

       7. Otis Brothers, Coxe Papers. 

• It does not include the URL.
• Use a period after each element in the bibliography.

Special Collections contains over 600 Oral Histories. Often an oral history may have a tape recording or CD of the actual interview.  Sometimes it may have a transcript of the interview as well.

In Chicago style, the kinds of oral histories we have in Special Collections are treated as unpublished interviews. (For more detailed information, see section 14.218-14.223 of the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., pp 744-746)

Citing an oral history

Look at this oral history in Special Collections: Hugh Creasman Oral History.   Looking at the information about the oral history, you'll note that the oral history is with Hugh Creasman, he was interviewed by Louis D. Sliveri on August 16, 1976, and that the oral history is part of the Louis D. Silveri Oral History Collection.

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "unpublished interviews are best cited in text or in notes, although they may occasionally appear in bibliographies." (14.219, p. 744). Check with your professor about whether you should include a bibliography entry for an oral history.    This example will show both a note and an bibliography entry.

        8. Hugh Creasman ,   interview by Louis Silveri,  16 August 1976, transcript, Louis Silveri Oral History Collection, Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

• Use commas after all elements and a period at the end of the note.
• Many oral histories are not part of a collection. If so, omit the collection part of the citation.
• There may either be a transcript or recording. Cite whichever you used.

Note (Subsequent Mentions):

Shortened reference:

        10. Creasman,  interview .

• The first line is indented, and the note only requires the interviewee's last name, the title of the article (sometimes shortened), and a specific page reference.

Bibliography (As noted above, check with your professor before making a biblography entry for an oral history. ) 

Creasman, Hugh .   Interview by Louis Silveri.  16 August 1976 . T ranscript.   Louis Silveri Oral History Collection.       Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

• The first line is not indented, but the second line and all following lines are indented. 
• The interviewee's last name is listed first, unlike the note, where it is First Name Last Name.
• Use periods after all parts of the bibliography (except the comma between "University of North Carolina at Asheville" and "Asheville, NC.")

Sometimes your research will involve using maps that you will need to cite. In terms of citations, the library has two different types of maps that require different different citations.

• One type of map is a published map , such as the topographical maps in the map case on the second floor.  
• The second type are unpublished maps that are part of manuscript collections in Special Collections.
• This section will show you how to cite both published and unpublished maps.

Citing a published map

Suppose you are writing a paper about the history of the exploration of Mt. Mitchell and you are using a topographic map from the map case on the second floor of the library.  You look at the map and note that it's a US Geological Survey map that was published by the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Further inspection of the map shows the following information: 

• U.S. Geological Survey (author - who created/authored the map)
• Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle, North Carolina, 200-SE (the title of the map)
• 1946 (the publication date)
• Scale 1:24,000
• Tennessee Valley Authority, Maps and Surveys Division, Knoxville, TN (the publisher and place)

The format for citing published maps and illustrations is the same (see Chicago Manual of Style,16th ed. , 14-165, p. 726) 

        1. U.S. Geological Survey, Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle, North Carolina [map], (Knoxville, TN: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1946)

• Use a comma after the author's name, a comma after the map title, and the format in brackets with a comma after it. The next section is in parentheses, and includes the place of publication followed by a colon, the publisher followed by a comma, and the publication date. 

       7. U.S. Geological Survey ,  Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle. 

• Use period after all elements except the place of publication, which takes a colon between it and the publisher.

Citing a unpublished map from a manuscript collection

Special Collections contains hundreds of unpublished maps that can only be found in manuscript collections. Citing a map is like citing a document in a manuscript collection, and follows the same guidelines as above for "Citing a document in a manuscript collection."  Here's an example:

For instance, you are using the Carolina Mountain Club Archives to research a paper about Linville Gorge. You find a hand-drawn map of a hike to Shortoff Mountain. While this map has no actual title written on it, it is important to describe the item so it can be easily identified. There is no date on it and you found it in Folder 9 in Box 8.  There is a corporate author, the Carolina Mountain Club. Let's take a look at how this would work:

        1. Carolina Mountain Club , Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain,  n.d., Box 8, Folder 9, Carolina Mountain Club Archives, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Because this is part of the Carolina Mountain Club archives and no specific author is noted on the map, use the "Carolina Mountan
• Note that because Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain is a description of the item rather than a title, is not in quotation marks. If the map actually had the title " Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain" on it, then you would put it in quotation marks as a title.
• The map does not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after the author's name, a comma after the document title, and a comma after the date, a comma after the box and file number, a comma after the collection name, a comma after the repository name, and a period at the end of the note. 

       7. Carolina Mountain Club , Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain.

• Use a period after the collection name, after the respository name, and after the author's name, and at the end of the bibliography entry.
• While the note included the item or document being cited, the bibliography does not include specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited. Then you would list the individual item in addition to the collection, respository, and repository location. For instance, if you cited two or more items from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above. If you cited only the one document listed in the bibliography above and no more documents, then your bibliograhy entry would look like this:

Photographs are a bit different in Chicago/Turabian style because they are cited in notes only and not in the bibliography.

You will need to use the following elements in your citation (Turabian, 8th ed., 17.8.1.1)

• Name of the photographer (if known)
• Title of the photograph in italics
• Date of photograph (preceded by ca. [ circa ] in italics if approximate, or n.d. if unknown)
• Name of the repository that houses the photograph

How to cite a photograph

Suppose you are researching the history of Tryon, NC. You find a photograph of a Catholic Church in Tryon, NC, in the R. Henry Scadin Collection that you want to use in your paper. You find this information about the photograph:

The photographer is R. Henry Scadin, and the photograph is labeled "Catholic Church, Tryon, NC," it's photograph number 958, and it's in Box 33. There is no date on the photograph. Here's how you would do the citation:

• The title and photograph number are in italics. If it does not have a title, use "untitled" and describe the photograph in your narrative. 
• The photograph does not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after the photographer's name, a comma after the photograph title, a comma after the date, a comma after the box and file number, a comma after the collection name, a comma after the repository name, and a period at the end of the note. 

  7. R. Henry Scadin, Catholic Church. 

• The first line is indented, but the note only requires the photographer's name and the title of the photograph (which is sometimes shortened).

There is no bibliography entry for a photograph.

   How to cite a photograph in an online collection 

Citing a photograph from an online, digitized collection is the same as citing a regular photograph, with the addition of adding the URL and an access date. 

• Name of the online collection
• Date accessed

You are writing a paper about Asheville in the early 20th century, and you want to use a photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt when he spoke at Pack Square in 1902.  You find a photograph of Roosevelt's talk in the Western North Carolina Heritage website, and you have this information:

The photographer is H. W. Pelton, the photograph is titled "Pack Square Crowds greet President Theodore Roosevelt." It's from the E. M. Ball Collection. The date is 1902, and the URL is http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/Photographs/id/639.  You accessed it on November 5, 2014.

            4. H. W. Pelton, Pack Square Crowds Greet President Theodore Roosevelt , 1902, E. M. Ball Collection, accessed November 5, 2014,  http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/Photographs/id/639

• The photograph title is in italics. If it does not have a title, use "untitled" and describe the photograph in your narrative. 
• Use a comma after the photographer's name, a comma after the photograph title, a comma after the date, a comma after the accession date, and a period at the end of the note. 

Sometimes you will find newspaper clippings, magazine articles, or academic journal articles in a manuscript collection. How do you cite these? When citing a newspaper, magazine, or journal in a manuscript collection, it's good to also provide information about the article, such as the title of the article, the name of the newspaper, the author of the article, and the date it was published. Sometime you might not have all this information, especially if the article was clipped out of the newspaper, but you can use what information you do have to describe the article as completely as possible. Let's take a look at a few examples of how this would work.

Example 1: Citing a newspaper article or clipping from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information about the newspaper article. 

Let's say you're working with the Carolina Mountain Club Archives and you find a newspaper article that you need for your research. You find an article that you want to cite, and you are able to identify a lot of information about it.  The article is "Are Dogwoods Doomed?" by Clarke Morrison. It was published in The Asheville Citizen on September 14, 1990. It was in Box 9, Folder 3 of the Carolina Mountain Club Archives. To cite this, what you end up doing is using the citation style for a newspaper article and adding it to the manuscript citation - thereby providing information about both the original article and the manuscript collection where you found it.

        1. Clarke Morrison , "Are Dogwoods Doomed?,"   The Asheville Citizen , September 14, 1990,   Box 9, Folder 3,   Carolina Mountain Club Archives ,  D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.       

• Note that this describes the information about the newspaper article, then describes the collection information.

       7. Morrison ,  "Dogwoods," Carolina Mountain Club Archives .

Carolina Mountain Club Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.        University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.        

• In other words, if you cited two or more items from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from the  Carolina Mountain Club Archives in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Morrison, Clarke . "Are Dogwoods Doomed? . "   The Asheville Citizen. September 14, 1990. Carolina Mountain Club        Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.   University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

Example 2: Citing a newspaper article with missing information

Sometimes you will find a newspaper or magazine article that has been clipped from the original paper or magazine. All you have is an article - you don't have the author, publication date, or even what newspaper published the article. If you add no information at all the reader may wonder who wrote the article, what paper it was in, and when it was published. However, Chicago style allows for comments in footnotes and endnotes (CMOS, 14.32) that you can use to explain this, and the commentary is inserted at the end of the note.

Let's assume you're working with the Carlina Mountain Club Archives. You find a clipping of a newspaper article titled "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" in Box 9, Folder 3, but it does not list an author or publication date, and you can't tell what paper it was published in. Your citation would look like this:     

Note (First mention, full reference) :

        1. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail,"  Box 9, Folder 3,   Carolina Mountain Club Archives,   D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.   Newspaper clipping missing author, publication date, and name of newspaper.     

• Note that this describes the information about the newspaper article, then describes the collection information. The additional phrase at the end clarifies why the information about the artilce is incomplete. 
• Use a comma after every element of the note and a period after the repository location. Use a period after the commentary phrase. 

       7 . " Hiking the Appalachian Trail,"  Carolina Mountain Club Archives.

 Bibliography:

Carolina Mountain Club Archives.   D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.           University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC .        

• If you cited only one item from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this: 

"Hiking the Appalachian Trail." Carolina Mountain Club Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.                       University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC 

Head of Special Collections & University Archivist

• Last Updated: Apr 19, 2023 10:44 AM
• URL: https://library.unca.edu/CMOSSpecialCollections

Citing Sources

• Introduction
• Citing Images
• Citing Archival & Primary Source Materials
• Citing from Databases
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Archives and Special Collections @ UD

For more information about archives and special collections, and to browse our collections, consult the following websites:

University Archives and Special Collections (212 Albert Emmanuel Hall)

U.S. Catholic Special Collection (302 Roesch Library)

Marian Library  (7th floor Roesch Library)

This page was adapted with appreciation from a guide on citing archival materials  from Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills. 

Citing Archival & Primary Source Materials

If you are are quoting or paraphrasing from archival and/or primary sources such as letters or manuscripts, you will need to create a citation just as if you were citing a book or journal article. Even graphic materials like postcards or photographs, when referenced in your research, require a citation. Citations for archival materials, just like print materials, are meant to help others locate the source(s) of your work, and should give readers a good sense of the physical location, collection organization, and contents of the item you are using.

If you are working on a research project that references a large volume of archival materials, you may consider using a citation management program like Tropy , which allows users to describe, manage, and generate citations for photographs of research materials.

Basic Information to Start Citations

On this page are examples for citing archival materials in Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and MLA Style; regardless of what citation style you use, you will likely need the following basic information:

• Title : The title of the item, or a short description if the item is untitled.
• Collection Title:  It's very likely that the item you are citing is part of an archival collection, so the title of that collection.
• Collection Number:   A unique identifier that generally appears on the finding aid, or in ArchivesSpace, it is referred to as the identifier (Example: The American Christian Music Collection in the U.S. Catholic Special Collection is number CSC-039).
• Box Number, Folder Number:  Box and folder numbers help specify the physical location of the material you're citing.
• Repository:  The name and geographic location of the archives where the item is located.

Archival Vocabulary

Examples from University of Dayton's archives are provided below to illustrate MLA and CMOS citations for archival materials. They are separated into four general categories:

• Letters:  Generally, citations for letters will require the names of sender and recipient (For example, Rebekah Baldwin to Paul Laurence Dunbar ).
• Photographs:  These may or may not be titled, or have been created by a specific photography studio/photographer.
• Documents & Manuscripts : May include diaries, memos, manuscripts, news clippings, and other documents.
• Graphic Materials & Ephemera:  Refers to posters, broadsides, pamphlets, cartoons, drawings, prints, and other two-dimensional graphic media. 

Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)

• Photographs
• Documents & Manuscripts
• Graphic Materials & Ephemera

The following examples illustrate the notes and bibliography system of citation for CMOS. In the notes and bibliography system, citations for sources can be found in footnotes or endnotes that correspond to a superscript number in the text. A separate bibliography follows the text, and bibliographic entries have a slightly different format. 

Additional details regarding citing archival materials can be found in sections titled "Manuscript Collections" in the  online quick guide or the full Chicago Manual of Style . In general, citations take the following pattern: 

Note:  Title or Description of Item, Date (day, month, year), Collection number or identifier, box number, folder number, Collection Name, Name of Repository, Location of Repository. URL if applicable.

If you reference the same item repeatedly, you can use shortened notes after the first citation.

Shortened note:  Shortened Version of Title, Collection Name.

Bibliography:  Last Name, First Name of author. Collection Name. Repository Name, Location of Repository.

If you are only citing one item from a collection, you can include the title of the object in the bibliography. The examples here assume that multiple items are used, and thus list individual items in the note but not the bibliography.

John S. Stokes Jr. to Mary F. Reardon, 29 March 1954, ML-034, box 7, folder 4, John Stokes and Mary's Garden Collection, Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://archivescatalog.udayton.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/15625 .

Shortened note

Stokes to Reardon, John Stokes and Mary's Garden Collection.

Bibliography

John Stokes and Mary's Garden Collection. Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.

Photograph of Pilgrims Kneeling in Front of the Statue of Our Lady of Kibeho, [2020?], ML-2021-001, Kibeho Photographs by Gianmarco Maraviglia [unprocessed], Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://archivescatalog.udayton.edu/repositories/2/accessions/493 .

Shortened Note

Photograph of Pilgrims Kneeling, Kibeho photographs by Gianmarco Maraviglia [unprocessed].

Kibeho Photographs by Gianmarco Maraviglia [unprocessed]. Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.

*The date in brackets with a question mark denotes an approximation of the actual date. *Brackets such as [unprocessed] above are used when amending the existing information, such as to provide clarification or missing words.

News Release #68-114, 21 June 1968, UASC-001-NR68-114, box N1, folder 5, Whalen Congressional Papers, University Archives and Special Collections, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://ecommons.udayton.edu/archives_whalen_news/169/ .

News Release #68-114, Whalen Congressional Papers.

Whalen Congressional Papers. University Archives and Special Collections, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.

Profession of Religious Vows Holy Card, devotional picture, 24 July 1930, CSC.009-006, box 1, folder 13, Collection of Commemorative Holy Cards, U.S. Catholic Special Collection, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://ecommons.udayton.edu/ul_holy_cards/35/ .

Profession of Religious Vows, Collection of Commemorative Holy Cards.

Collection of Commemorative Holy Cards. U.S. Catholic Special Collection, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.

MLA style citations are formatted as in-text citations, usually in parentheses at the end of the sentence, or sometimes worked into the text of the sentence with the work you are citing (also known as a signal phrase). At the end of the paper, full citations are listed in the Works Cited. For more information about citing in MLA Style, consult the  MLA Style Center , which offers guidance for citing material located in a digital archive  or  citing material located in a physical archive .

MLA utilizes an author-date format for citations, but it should be noted that in many cases, archival materials are not paginated and may not require a page number for the citation. Similarly, archival materials may have no known author; in which case, the author's last name can be substituted for the title or a short description of the work in quotes.

The general format for an MLA citation is as follows:

Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title or description of material. Day month year. Collection name. Collection identifier, Box number, Folder number. Name of Repository, Location of Repository. URL if applicable.

MLA Style utilizes Core Elements , which function as the main building blocks for creating a citation. For archival material, you will likely employ the following Core Elements:

• If the author is unknown skip the author element and start with the title.
• Title:  If untitled, provide a description of the item without quotations or italics. Capitalize the first word of the description as well as any proper nouns in it.
• Date:  Format: Day month year. If the date is uncertain, add a question mark at the end of the date. If the date is unknown add “Date unknown” as the date.
• Title of container:  Collection title.
• Location:  Collection number or identifier, Box number, Folder number. Name of Repository, Location of Repository.
• URL:  For digital collection material only.

King, Eleanor. Letter to Josephine L. Schwarz. Date unknown. Josephine L. Schwarz Papers. UASC-003, Box 17, Folder 3. University Archives and Special Collections, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://ecommons.udayton.edu/finding_aid/10/ .

Muslim pilgrims at the Lourdes Grotto. 1958. Marian Library photograph collection. ML-49, Box 2, Folder 39. Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://ecommons.udayton.edu/imri_photos/67/ .

White, John. Knock Shrine manuscript. 2007. Marian Apparitions collection. ML-035, Box 4. Marian Library, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.  https://archivescatalog.udayton.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/16228 .  

Boesch, William C. Drawing of the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. 1986. William C. Boesch, Sr. Drawings. UASC-030, Box 1, Folder 1. University Archives and Special Collections, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/archives_boesch/5/ .

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• Next: Citing from Databases >>
• Last Updated: Feb 14, 2024 10:32 AM
• URL: https://libguides.udayton.edu/citingsources

• Introduction to Archival Research
• What are archives?
• What is an archival collection?
• How are archives different than libraries?
• Why visit an archive?
• Types of archives
• What do archivists do?
• What is a Finding Aid?
• Front Matter
• Collection inventory
• Understanding linear feet
• Understanding access restrictions
• Culturally protected records
• Making FOIA and other requests
• Copyright and use
• Citing archival material
• Types of primary sources
• Finding primary sources
• Evaluating primary sources
• Archival silences
• About our collections
• Research access and requests
• Search our collectons
• Guide to ArchiveSpace
• CU Digital Library
• CU Library Catalog
• Finding collections elsewhere
• Area archives
• National and international archives
• Digital collections
• Visiting Archives

This guide provides some preliminary information about legal issues like Copyright, Fair Use, and Public Domain. These sources do not constitute legal advice. You are responsible for making your own educated judgments when using copyrighted material.

Citing archival resources

Because archival material is generally original and unpublished, it is not as easy to write academic citations like you would for books, articles, and other research sources. The Purdue Online Writing Lab recommends two approaches: 

• 1. Consult the archive
• 2. Write a citation

Check the Finding Aid or webpage for the archival repository to see if a preferred citation method is provided. 

At CU Boulder, the ArchivesSpace page for each archival collection contains a "Citation" button that will generate a citation according to our preferred standard. See the "CU Boulder Archives" tab above for more.

Adapt your standard citation format to include archival identifiers. 

Using whichever citation style you choose (APA, MLA, or Chicago), write a citation that includes :

• Information about the document
• Information about the collection and collection arrangement
• Information the archival repository

For the archival document, write a citation with as much information as you have:

Add information identifying the collection, the location of the document within the collection, and the archival repository. Use as much information as available:

• Box #,  Folder # , Item # 
• Collection # - Use the numbering system or format listed in the collection Finding Aid
• Collection Name
• Name of Archives
• Name of Institution - if the archives has a more specific name than the university or institution it is found, like the Beck Archives at the University of Denver
• Date of access  - is no longer necessary for some citation systems

Examples: 

If you're having trouble, ask the archivist, your course instructor, or your publisher what citation method they prefer.

Additional Resources

• Archival sources for media production: Citation and credits This page, from CU Boulder Libraries, outlines some suggestions for crediting archival sources re-used in new media works

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Citing Archival Materials

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Chicago Overview

Note: Kate Turabian's  Manual for Writers of Research Papers...  is based on the  Chicago Manual of Style . This portion of the guide applies to both Chicago and Turabian. 

The  Chicago Manual of Style  refers to archival collections as "Manuscript Collections." It states that item identification should be the first part of a citation, and recommends inclusion of additional pieces of information to help others locate the item you cite. The manual advises authors to fully identify whatever they cite, and to format citations consistently in their work.

Most of the guidelines for citing archival materials are located in sections  14.221-14.231 .

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A Guide to Citing Materials from Physical Archives and Collections

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

To cite materials from physical archives, follow the MLA format template . In general, list the author, if given, and then the title or a description of the work. If the work is contained in a collection, list the collection name as the title of the container. Include any other elements that apply. The library or institution where the collection can be found may be listed as part of the container or as part of the location, but box, file, and manuscript numbers should always be listed in the “Location” slot. Below are examples of works-cited-list entries for archival material found in print and online.

Complete Work

In the following entry, the library housing the manuscript is in the “Location” slot: 

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales . Circa 1400-10, British Library, London, Harley MS 7334.

Document in an Archival Collection

In the entry below, the library may be considered part of the container ( Decision  Magazine Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale U Library) or part of the location (Yale U Library, MS 176, box 1, folder 20):

Auden, W. H., and Klaus Mann. Prospectus. Decision Magazine Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale U Library, MS 176, box 1, folder 20.

When you cite letters, include the date of the letter in the middle optional-element slot after the title or description of the letter. If you wish to indicate that the letter is handwritten, list “Manuscript” in the optional-element slot at the end of the entry:

Benton, Thomas Hart. Letter to Charles Fremont. 22 June 1847. John Charles Fremont Papers, Southwest Museum Library, Los Angeles. Manuscript. Moore, Marianne. Letter to Bryher. 28 Sept. 1954. Bryher Papers, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale U, GEN MSS 97, box 38, folder 1373.

Uncertain Date

If the date of a document is uncertain, add a question mark after the date:

Borges, Jorge Luis. “Thorkelin y el Beowulf.” 1955–60? Jorge Luis Borges Papers, Harry Ransom Center, U of Texas, Austin, section 2, container 1.14, ff. 1r–11v.

Unprocessed Materials

If the material you are citing is in an unprocessed collection, provide in-text citations that include descriptions of the items and omit works-cited-list entries.

To learn how to cite archival material from websites and databases, see our post on citing artifacts in digital archives.

Prabo Mihindukulasuriya 24 May 2018 AT 07:05 AM

I am citing unpublished letters from an archival collection in the footnotes of in my history thesis. Do I write the sender's and receiver's names as surname first comma initials?

Your e-mail address will not be published

Tom Curran 04 December 2018 AT 02:12 PM

From the example in the article, it looks like you put the writer surname first and the receiver first name and surname.

Francesc Morales 09 October 2021 AT 01:10 PM

How we solve the problem of having several paper references from several archive collections using in-text citations? The Chicago Manual of Style is more realistic with this type of source because it keeps the footnote bibliographic references.

C. Barney Latimer 25 January 2022 AT 05:01 PM

To create an in-text citation for physical materials from an archive, use the same approach you would use to cite any other source: provide the shortest piece of information that directs your reader to the relevant entry in the works-cited list. Your citation will begin with whatever comes first in the entry—the author’s name or the title (or description) of the work. If you are citing a work that shares an author and title (or description) with another work in the works-cited list, you’ll need to provide a further piece of documentation to distinguish it from the other work. Add to the author and title the next piece of information from the works-cited-list entry. For a work in a physical archive, this might be the date or the name of the archive. You can provide the citation either in your prose (in the main text or in an endnote) or in parentheses. If you create a parenthetical citation and need to provide the reader with more than the author and title (or description), place this further piece of identifying information in square brackets after the author and title.

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Citing Sources: Chicago Notes/Bibliography Style

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What you need to gather for a good citation

To create a complete archival citation, you first need to gather the necessary components. It is important to take notes while visiting the archival repository (whether online or in person).

Bates, Sanford. "The Establishment and the Early Years of the Federal Probation System," 1950. Box 3, Folder 38. Sanford Bates Collection, THR/01/2012.s004. Sam Houston State University Special Collections, Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, 77341 .

You will need to capture information about the type of document, the creator of the document, the collection in which you found the document, and the repository (archive) in which you found the collection. If you are visiting the archive in person, ask the librarian or archivist for help gathering this information. If you are finding archival documents online, this information will be attainable on the website. Once you have gathered the essential elements of your citation, refer to the citation style you have been assigned by your professor (MLA, Chicago, etc.) for guidance about formatting.

The first element you will need to gather is the identity of the document itself, for instance is it a letter from the Sexton Collection? If so, who created it, what page are you citing, what is the date. Capture this information when you are conducting your research so you will not have to find it twice.

For example: For my paper, I am citing a pamphlet from the Sanford Bates Collection. I found "The Establishment and the Early Years of the Federal Probation System" by Sanford Bates, 1950 March in Box 3, Folder 38.

The Document’s information:

Creator : Sanford Bates

Title : The Establishment and the Early Years of the Federal Probation System"

Date : 1950

The Collection information – found at the beginning of an online finding aid or by request in a formal archival setting.

Title of Collection : Sanford Bates Collection

Collection number : THR/01/2012.s004 (sometimes a MC number or MSS number or MS number-- this is like a call number for a manuscript collection)

Repository Information: Where is this item – what is the name and location of the archive or repository?

Repository : Sam Houston State University Special Collections, Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, 77341.

So- the complete citation for the article in question would be:

Bates, Sanford. "The Establishment and the Early Years of the Federal Probation System," 1950. Box 3, Folder 38. Sanford Bates Collection, THR/01/2012.s004. Sam Houston State University Special Collections, Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, 77341.

Citation help - Websites

• Chicago Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new window Provides online access to both the 16th and 15th editions of the Chicago Manual of Style, plus Style Q&A, a quick-guide of Chicago citation examples, and a variety of helpful citing tools.
• Citing Archival Resources -- Purdue Owl
• Citing Records in the National Archives

Citation help - other archives

• Citation help for archival documents, by reference type - APA
• Primary Sources in Archives & Special Collections
• Citation Guide for Primary Sources

Citation help - Books

• Citing records in the National Archives of the United States by United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Call Number: AE 1.113:17/2010 GOV DOCS REF Publication Date: 2010

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Newton Gresham Library | (936) 294-1614 | (866) NGL-INFO | Ask a Question | Share a Suggestion Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, Texas 77341 | (936) 294-1111 | (866) BEARKAT © Copyright Sam Houston State University | All rights reserved. | A Member of The Texas State University System

How Do I Cite Archival Material Guide

About chicago citations for archival material, general format for bibliography & notes.

The Chicago Manual of Style , Seventeenth Edition, from 2017, is the current official source for the Chicago Style.

The Chicago Style has two different ways of citing sources:

• Notes-Bibliography (or Humanities) : uses a raised (superscript) number in the text to indicate a citation. This number matches a numbered footnote at the bottom of the page or an endnote at the end of the chapter or at the end of your work. Sources are listed in a bibliography. This system's guidelines are described in Chapter 14 on the Chicago Style website.
• Author-Date : an item’s title, date, and collection name are listed in parentheses in the running text as part of the sentence. If the item’s date is mentioned in the text, the date can be omitted from parentheses. Sources are listed in a reference list at the end of your work. This system's guidelines are described in Chapter 15 on the Chicago Style website.

This guide will focus on the Notes-Bibliography format. It's more commonly used in subjects like history and lends itself to citing archival materials from the University of Regina Archives and Special Collections.

Guidelines aimed at archival material are available on the Chicago Style website in sections 14.221 -14.231 “Manuscript Collections.” When citing archival material from our archival collections, you may also find the following sections helpful: 14.188 -14.204 (magazines, newspapers, reviews), 14.211 -14.220 (interviews, pamphlets), 14.235 -14.237 (artwork, maps), and 14.263 -14.265 (recordings).

When you view digitized archival sources made available online and cite them using the Chicago Style:

• cite the online source like you would if you had viewed the archival item in its original format
• list the Reference URL

You do not have to provide the date you accessed the online source. 

General format for a Bibliography

Author’s surname, Author’s First Name. Collection name. Archive name, Archive Location. URL or DOI if applicable.

Collection name. Archive name, Archive Location. URL or DOI if applicable.

When it comes to archival sources, a Chicago-style bibliography highlights the collection where the items are found, or the author/creator of the cited material. List the sources alphabetically, according to the name of the fonds or the author's/creator's surname and first name. In your bibliography you don't have to list each item separately if in your footnotes/endnotes you cited multiple archival materials from a single collection -- only list details for specific archival materials (for instance, a letter's title and date) if you cited a single item from a collection in your footnotes/endnotes.

General format for Footnotes/Endnotes

Initial citation :

Item's Title or Description, Date (format: day, month, year), Accession Number, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection name, Archive name, Location. URL or DOI if applicable.

The very first time you list an item in a footnote or endnote, include all the information that is needed to find that item -- you are guiding other researchers to the item’s location in the archives! Archival materials are unique, often found in a single location, and are not listed separately in your bibliography if in your footnotes/endnotes you cited multiple items from a single collection.

Subsequent citations :

In subsequent citations for the same archival item, or when referencing other items from the same collection, you can use a shortened name for the item or collection. Just remember to place the shortened form into parentheses at the end of the first footnote/endnote:

Item's Title or Description, Date (format: day, month, year), Accession Number, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection name, Archive name, Location. URL or DOI if applicable (hereafter cited as Item's shortened name/shortened collection or fonds name).

Then use the shortened form in all subsequent footnotes/endnotes that reference the item:

Item's shortened name

Bibliography

Multiple items from a single fonds:

Department of English. Department of English fonds. University of Regina Archives and Special Collections, Regina, SK, Canada.

Department of English fonds. University of Regina Archives and Special Collections, Regina, SK, Canada.

One item from a single fonds:

Department of English. Annual Report , 1970-1971, 2014-54, Box 1, File 1, Department of English fonds. University of Regina Archives and Special Collections, Regina, SK, Canada.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Initial citation:

Annual Report , 1970-1971, 2014-54, Box 1, File 1, Department of English fonds, University of Regina Archives and Special Collections, Regina, SK, Canada (hereafter cited as  Annual Report , 1970-1971).

Subsequent citations:

Annual Report , 1970-1971

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Chicago Style Guide 17th Edition: Archival or Manuscript Collections

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Back to Academic Integrity guide

Archival or Manuscript Collections - Letters

As noted previously, CMOS dictates that it is sufficient to provide an in-text citation and a footnote for a correspondence. If the source is of particular importance to a piece, a full reference can be included, see examples below. Seek guidance from your module coordinator on what they expect.

Footnote:  

#. First name Last name sender to First name Last name recipient(s), Day Month Year of correspondence, location in collection (box no. etc.), Name of Collection/Papers, Name of Archive, Name of Institution, City/Country (if unclear), URL.

4. Mairin Mitchell to Desmond Ryan, 2 February 1940, UCDA LA10/146, Papers of Desmond Ryan, UCD Archives, University College Dublin Library, Ireland.

Reference:  

If more than one item from a collection is cited, format bibliography entry as below.

Name of Collection/Papers or Author of Collection. Name of Archive, Name of Institution, City/Country (if unclear). URL. 

If only one item from a collection is cited, format bibliography entry as below.

Sender Last name, First name. Description of item, Day Month Year. Name of Collection/Papers. Name of Archive, Name of Institution, Name of City/Country (if unclear). URL.  

More than one item cited in piece.

Papers of Desmond Ryan. UCD Archives, University College Dublin, Ireland.

One item cited in piece.

Mitchell, Mairin. Letter to Desmond Ryan, 2 February 1940. Papers of Desmond Ryan. UCD Archives. University College Dublin Library, Ireland.  

Still unsure what in-text citation and referencing mean? Check here . 

Still unsure why you need to reference all this information? Check here . 

Archival or Manuscript Collections - Diaries

CMOS dictates that it is sufficient to provide and in-text citation an a footnote for a diary entry. If the source is of particular importance to a piece, a full reference can be included, see examples below. Seek guidance from your module coordinator on what they expect.

#. First name Last name author(s), Description (e.g. Diary Entry), Day Month Year of entry/diary, location in collection (box no. etc.), Name of Collection/Papers, Name of Archive, Name of Institution, City/Country (if unclear), URL.

5. Kathleen Lynn, Diary Entry, 27 April 1916, KL, Kathleen Lynn Diaries, Archives, RCPI Heritage Centre, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, https://www.rcpi.ie/heritage-centre/1916-2/revolutionary-diary-kathleen-lynn/.

Name of Collection/Papers or Author of Diary. Name of Archive, Name of Institution, City/Country (if unclear). URL.

Author(s) Last name, First name. Diary entry, Day Month Year. Name of Collection/Papers. Name of Archive, Name of Institution, Name of City/Country (if unclear). URL.

Kathleen Lynn Diaries. Archives, RCPI Heritage Centre, Royal College of Physicians Ireland. https://www.rcpi.ie/heritage-centre/1916-2/revolutionary-diary-kathleen-lynn/.

Further details on citing Archival or Manuscript collections is available on pages 854 - 857 of the CMOS, 17th Edition.  

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Nearly 6k pages of biden emails released to house republicans by national archives.

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The National Archives released nearly 6,000 pages of emails this week to Republicans on the House Oversight Committee as part of their probe into President Biden . 

In a pair of letters this week to Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky), National Archives’ general counsel Gary Stern said that 211 emails had been turned over spanning 5,860 pages, as part of the investigation into Biden’s family business dealings, Axios reported.

“As we have explained to your staff, we are conducting a rolling notification process to the representatives of the former and incumbent presidents,” Stern wrote.

Comer and his colleagues had sought emails from the National Archives stemming from Biden’s time as vice president to President Obama.

Among the records requested were documents when then-Vice President Biden used a pseudonym and communications with Hunter Biden or his business associates.

Ever since The Post’s first exposed Hunter Biden’s drug-fueled foreign business dealings in 2020, House Republicans have been searching to find evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden.

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The National Archives has so far released over 20,000 pages of emails over 75,000 more pages of records to the House GOP, the outlet reported.

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Louis Gossett Jr., 87, Dies; ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ and ‘Roots’ Actor

His portrayal of a drill instructor earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor. He was the first Black performer to win in that category.

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By Anita Gates

Louis Gossett Jr., who took home an Academy Award for “An Officer and a Gentleman” and an Emmy for “Roots,” both times playing a mature man who guides a younger one taking on a new role — but in drastically different circumstances — died early Friday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 87.

Mr. Gossett’s first cousin Neal L. Gossett confirmed the death. He did not specify a cause.

Mr. Gossett was 46 when he played Emil Foley, the Marine drill instructor from hell who ultimately shapes the humanity of an emotionally damaged young Naval aviation recruit (Richard Gere) in “ An Officer and a Gentleman ” (1982). Reviewing the movie in The New York Times, Vincent Canby described Sergeant Foley as a cruel taskmaster “recycled as a man of recognizable cunning, dedication and humor” revealed in “the kind of performance that wins awards.”

Mr. Gossett told The Times that he had recognized the role’s worth immediately. “The words just tasted good,” he recalled.

When he accepted the Oscar for best supporting actor in 1983, he was the first Black performer to win in that category — and only the third (after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier) to win an Academy Award for acting.

Mr. Gossett, a versatile actor, played a range of parts in his long career. But he was best known for playing decent, plain-spoken men, often authority figures.

By the time he won his Oscar, he had already won an Emmy as Fiddler, the mentor of the lead character, Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), in the blockbuster 1977 mini-series “ Roots .”

Fiddler was, as the name suggested, a musician, an enslaved man on an 18th-century Virginia plantation. Mr. Gossett was not thrilled about the role at first. “Why choose me to play the Uncle Tom?” he remembered thinking in a 2018 Television Academy video interview . But he came to admire the survival skills of forebears like Fiddler, he said, and based the character on his grandparents and a great-grandmother.

That portrayal, he said, became “a tribute to all those people who taught me how to behave.”

Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. was born on May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, the only child of Louis Gossett, a porter, and Helen (Wray) Gossett, a nurse. He made his Broadway debut when he was 17 and still a student at Abraham Lincoln High School on Ocean Parkway.

While healing after a basketball injury, he appeared in a school play, just to occupy his time. Impressed, a teacher suggested that he audition for “ Take a Giant Step ,” a play by Louis Peterson that was opening at the Lyceum Theater in the fall of 1953. He won the lead role, that of Spencer Scott, a troubled adolescent. Brooks Atkinson of The Times praised his “admirable and winning performance,” one that conveyed “the whole range of Spencer’s turbulence.”

Sidney Fields devoted a column in The Sunday Mirror to the young man, who shared his career plans. “I always wanted to study pharmacy,” Mr. Gossett said. “But now after college I’ll try acting. I know it’s a tough business, but if I fail, I’ll have the pharmacy degree to fall back on.”

He ended up majoring in drama (and minoring in pharmacy) while on a basketball scholarship at New York University. In 1955, he returned to Broadway, in William Marchant’s comedy “The Desk Set.” By the time he graduated, acting was paying him more than any basketball team would.

He made his film debut as an annoying college man in “ A Raisin in the Sun ” (1961), an adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play that starred Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee. He had appeared onscreen only twice before — in two episodes of “The Big Story,” an NBC drama series, in 1957 and 1958.

Before becoming a film star, Mr. Gossett had a thriving theater career. In less than a decade he landed six Broadway roles, including that of a Harlem hustler in “Tambourines to Glory” (1963), a South African grandfather’s servant in “The Zulu and the Zayda” (1965), a lawyer who had killed a white man in a civil rights demonstration in “My Sweet Charlie” (1966) and the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba in “Dangerous Angels” (1971).

In the mid-1960s, he replaced the actor playing the big-time boxing promoter Eddie Satin in the musical “Golden Boy,” starring Sammy Davis Jr. His most unfortunate role may have been as a Black man with a white slave in “Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights” (1968), a comedy written by Robert Alan Aurthur and directed by Sidney Poitier. The play, which Clive Barnes of The Times called racist, closed after a week.

Mr. Gossett never committed to another Broadway role. But he appeared for four nights as the flashy lawyer Billy Flynn in the musical “Chicago” in 2002.

In the 1960s, he also performed as a folk singer in Greenwich Village coffee houses. He and Richie Havens co-wrote the antiwar song “Handsome Johnny,” which Mr. Havens recorded in 1966 and later sang at Woodstock.

His dozens of feature films included “The Landlord” (1970), in which he played a man on the brink of insanity; “Travels With My Aunt” (1972); and “The Deep” (1977), as a Bahamian drug dealer. His later films included “ Diggstown ” (1992), in which he played a boxer, and the movie version of Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Starving Class” (1994), in which he played a bar owner.

Mr. Gossett made more than 100 television appearances, ranging from lighthearted comedies like “The Partridge Family” to dramas like “Madam Secretary.” He played the title role, a Columbia anthropology professor who investigates crimes, on the short-lived 1989 series “Gideon Oliver.”

He also appeared in numerous television movies, among them “The Lazarus Syndrome” (1978), about a cardiologist; “ A Gathering of Old Men ” (1987), about a Black man who kills in self-defense; “Strange Justice” (1999), about the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation process (he played the presidential adviser Vernon Jordan); and “Lackawanna Blues” (2005), based on Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s play. His other TV-movie roles included the Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat and the baseball star Satchel Paige.

He continued to act until last year, when he was seen in the film version of the Broadway musical “The Color Purple.”

Mr. Gossett’s marriage to Hattie Glascoe in 1964 lasted only five months. He and Christina Mangosing married in 1973, had one child and divorced after two years. His 1987 marriage to Cyndi James Reese ended in divorce in 1992.

Mr. Gossett is survived by his sons, Satie and Sharron Gossett, and several grandchildren.

In the Television Academy interview, Mr. Gossett urged fellow actors to help effect political and social change in a disturbing world. “The arts can achieve it overnight,” he said. “Millions of people are watching.” He added, “We can get to them quicker than anybody else.”

Michael S. Rosenwald contributed reporting.