| |
Citing archival material
Note: For examples of how to cite published primary sources refer to the Library's Referencing and Citing guide.
What to include when citing archives
Whenever you cite archival material you should provide two essential pieces of information: a description of the item AND details of where it is located.
The latter is required because archival material in most cases consists of unique, unpublished records which are available in only one place (unlike books or other published material held at more than one library).
A typical archival citation should include the following:
- place identifier - where the records are held
- agency name - the name of the person or organisation that created the records
-
record (ie. collection) series number, with record title and date range
If you are referring to a specific item or range of items within that record series you should also include the:
- individual item number, with item title description and date (if known)
top of page
Citation examples
Expanded archival citation
In a bibliography you should provide the full citation details for each archival record/collection you refer to in your essay etc. For example:
Wollongong University Archives: Francis McCaffrey; D92, Francis McCaffrey Collection, 1865-1932; D92/5, Notebooks.
Abbreviated archival citation
If you refer to the same citation more than once in your essay etc. you may abbreviate the citation the second time rather than write it again in full.
The abbreviation for the University of Wollongong Archives is NWUA, so the abbreviation for the above citation would be:
NWUA: McCaffrey; D92/5, Notebooks.
Other examples
For further suggestions of how to cite archival material refer to the following guides:
|
|
|
|
Content by: Archivist |
