Chicago citation style

A guide to citing sources using the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition

General guidelines

Notes

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.

Note format:

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

Bibliography

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.

Bibliography entry format:

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

Letters

Sample note:

2. Correspondence from Richard Howley to William Howley, 18 July 1865, 3.01.012, COLL-262, Howley Family Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.

Sample bibliography entry:

COLL-262 Howley Family Papers, Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.

Photographs

Sample note:

3. St. John’s from South Side [Photo], c.1889, 1.01.001, COLL-503, S. H. Parsons Views of Newfoundland Photograph Album, Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.

Sample bibliography entry:

COLL-503 S. H. Parsons Views of Newfoundland Photograph Album. Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.

Ephemera

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) defines ephemera as “Materials, usually printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use.” Some examples of ephemera can include: postcards, posters, pamphlets, and broadsides.

Sample note:

4. Remember the "Caribou" and her gallant crew [Poster], 1944, 19.04.006, COLL-115, Cassie Brown Collection, Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.

Sample bibliography entry:

COLL-115 Cassie Brown Collection. Archives & Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University Libraries, St. John’s, NL.