Citation Styles and Tools: Archival Citations

If you are using archival sources in your research (papers, presentations, or other published materials), citations are required. There are different ways to cite archival sources depending on the format required by your discipline. Archival citations can be tricky for finding the right elements, and different institutions can require different structures for citations of their material, so check with them as well. It will make your life much easier if you keep track of this while researching, as it can be difficult to go back and find the folder or exact title.

1. Title: usually the title given by the archives to a file or item (you can also find this in the finding aid); in the absence of a title provide a short description, add a relevant date at the end to distinguish it from similar materials if necessary

2. Name of collection: The title given to the collection by the archives, you don't need to included any dates that might be at the end of the title.

3. Accession or Collection Number: The number given to the collection by the archives

4. Box number: the number of the box in which the archival record is physically stored, Folder number: the number of the folder in which the archival record in physically stored (if foldered)

5. Repository and location: the name of the archives or library