Archival materials can be difficult to cite, and how you do it will differ depending whether the primary source is accessed through a published book, a physical archive, a database or a website.
When archival material is published in a book, the citation generally acknowledges an editor along with an author. See the Books tab for variations on these patterns (e.g. for multiple authors). Diaries and letters published in collections are treated slightly differently from other types of sources, see below for details.
Note that citations can refer to dates that are not contemporaneous with an author’s lifetime, because they represent the year that a source was published and not necessarily when it was written.
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Rule for Note |
Edited books Note number. Author's Full Name, Title of Book: Subtitle of Book, ed. Editor's Full Name (Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication), Page or Pages. Diaries Note number. Author's Full Name, Title of Diary, Dates that entries span if not included in the title, ed. Editor's Full Name (Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication), Page or Pages. Letters Note number. Author's Full Name to Recipient's Full Name, Date of Letter, in Title of Collection, ed. Editor's Full Name (Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication), Page or Pages. |
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Example of Note entry |
Edited books 1. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Art of War, ed. Edward Dacres and Peter Whitehorne (New York: AMS Press, 1967), 55. Diaries 3. Thomas Larkham, The Diary of Thomas Larkham, 1647–1669, ed. Susan Hardman Moore (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2011), 13. Letters 4. John O’Neill to Thomas Jefferson, October 30, 1805, in To His Excellency Thomas Jefferson: Letters to a President, ed. Jack McLaughlin (New York: Avon Books, 1991), 60. |
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Subsequent Note entry |
Edited books 1. Machiavelli, The Art of War, 55. Diaries 3. Larkham, 23. Letters 4. O’Neill to Jefferson, October 30, 1805, 61. |
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Rule for Bibliography |
Edited books Author's Surname, Author's Given Name. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Edited by Editor's Full Name. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication. Diaries Author's Author's Surname, Author's Given Name. Title of Diary. Dates that entries span if not included in the title. Edited by Editor's Full Name. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication. Letters Author's Surname, Author's Given Name to Recipient's Full Name. Date of Letter. In Title of Collection. Edited by Editor's Full Name. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name, Year of Publication. |
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Example of Bibliography entry |
Edited books Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Art of War. Edited by Edward Dacres and Peter Whitehorne. New York: AMS Press, 1967. Diaries Larkham, Thomas. The Diary of Thomas Larkham, 1647–1669. Edited by Susan Hardman Moore. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2011. Letters Neill, John. John O’Neill to Thomas Jefferson, October 30, 1805. In To His Excellency Thomas Jefferson: Letters to a President. Edited by Jack McLaughlin. New York: Avon Books, 1991. |
If a primary source is published in a reader, anthology, sourcebook, or similar where each chapter contains more than one source, then cite as a primary source quoted in a secondary source. Consulting and referencing primary sources is always preferable. However, if such material is only available in a secondary source then introduce the original source and note that the source is “quoted in” the secondary source. Include only the secondary source in the bibliography.
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Rule for Note |
Note number. Primary Source Author’s Full Name, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of Publication), Page or Pages, quoted in Secondary Source Author’s Full Name, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of Publication), Page or Pages. |
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Example of Note entry |
1. Hastings Ismay, The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay (New York: Viking, 1960), 199, quoted in James Holland, The Battle of Britain (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010), 335. |
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Subsequent Note entry |
2. Ismay, Memoirs, quoted in Holland, The Battle of Britain, 335. |
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Rule for Bibliography |
Secondary Source Author’s Surname, Given Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of Publication. |
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Example of Bibliography entry |
Holland, James. The Battle of Britain. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010. |
Typical elements of a citation to an unpublished document in a physical archive include: the title (if available) or a description of the document, the relevant date, location information, the collection title, the collection number, and the repository name. You can usually find these details in the item’s finding aid or catalogue record, but not all citations will have all of these elements.
The main element of the citation is usually the specific document, which is cited first. If it lacks a formal title, you may create one (e.g. photograph, interview, or minutes). Descriptive titles of this kind are not enclosed in quotation marks or italicised. Include information about the specific location of a document in a collection by designating box and folder numbers. See the The Chicago Manual of Style, from 14.221, for more detailed instructions and more examples.
Remember that you need to supply enough information for the reader to track down the source. Be consistent in the format you choose and if you want more advice then ask your tutor or at the library.
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Rule for Note |
Note number. Title (if available) or description of the specific document, Name of the entity that drafted the document, Year drafted, Collection, Repository, Location. |
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Example of Note entry |
1. Minutes of the Committee for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks, Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 1790–1803, Papers of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. |
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Subsequent Note entry |
Subsequent citations to the same document, or other documents from the same collection, may be shortened. The writer announces the use of short forms in a bracket at the end of the first citation. 1. Minutes of the Committee for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks, Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 1790–1803, Papers of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (hereafter cited as Minutes, Pennsylvania Society). 2. Minutes, 15 April 1795, Pennsylvania Society. |
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Rule for Bibliography |
The main element of the bibliography entry is usually the title of the collection in which the specific document may be found, or the repository that houses the collection. Specific documents are not usually mentioned in a bibliography unless only one item from the collection is cited. |
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Example of Bibliography entry |
Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Papers. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. or if only one item from the collection is cited Minutes of the Committee for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks, Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 1790–1803. Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Papers. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. |
How you cite these sources will depend on where you found them, as each database or website will provide different information. In general citations of archival material accessed through databases or online follow similar patterns as citations of physical collections. They include: the author's name (if available), the title or type of the document, the date of the document, the title of the website, and its URL. If the source is from a database then provide the information you would give if you accessed the source in an archive, as your reader may not have access to the paid database.
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Rule for Note |
Note number. Author (if available), Title or description of the specific document. Date of document, Title of website or database, URL. |
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Example of Note entry |
1. Thomas Haddon, Carrier Pigeons in War. 9 January 1946, War Cabinet, Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office: Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee, Later Committee: Secretariat: Minutes (JIC(SEC)). Secretariat Minutes (1946) 2-312 , Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War, CAB176/9, http://www.secretintelligencefiles.com. |
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Subsequent Note entry |
2. Haddon, Carrier Pigeons in War, 25. |
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Rule for Bibliography |
Paper Series (if available). Location (if available). Name of database. Document catalogue number. URL. Specific documents are not usually mentioned in a bibliography unless only one item from the collection is cited. |
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Example of Bibliography entry |
War Cabinet, Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office: Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee, later Committee: Secretariat: Minutes (JIC(SEC)). Secretariat Minutes (1946) 2–312, Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War, CAB176/9, http://www.secretintelligencefiles.com. or if only one item from the collection is cited Haddon, Thomas. Carrier Pigeons in War. 9 January 1946. War Cabinet, Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office: Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee, later Committee: Secretariat: Minutes (JIC(SEC)). Secretariat Minutes (1946) 2–312, Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War, CAB176/9, http://www.secretintelligencefiles.com. |
The Chicago Manual of Style does not require that access dates be included in references to formally published online sources. However, students may be required to include them for assessment tasks.
Note in this example that the fictional character Diana Prince (Wonder Woman’s alter ego) has signed the source. As the actual author is unknown, we can cite Prince as a pseudonym and signal it by including the abbreviation "pseud." in square brackets.
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Rule for Note |
Note number. Author's Full Name, 'Title of Source: Subtitle of Source,' Relevant Date, Name of Hosting Organisation. URL. |
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Example of Note entry |
1. Diana Prince [pseud.], 'Wonder Women of History: Ellen Swallow Richards,' 1951, American Memory, Library of Congress, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/awhbib:@field(NUMBER+@band(ppmsca+02933)). |
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Subsequent Note entry |
2. Prince 'Wonder Women of History,' 1951. |
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Rule for Bibliography |
Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. 'Title of Source: Subtitle of Source.' Relevant Date. Name of Hosting Organisation. URL. |
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Example of Bibliography entry |
Prince, Diana [pseud.]. 'Wonder Women of History: Ellen Swallow Richards.' 1951. American Memory. Library of Congress, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/awhbib:@field(NUMBER+@band(ppmsca+02933)). |