Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago)

Drawn from the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. This volume is licensed by KU Libraries and can be accessed via the Libraries’ website. See Chapter 14, Sections 221-231 for more information about citing archival materials (called “Manuscript Collections”).

Chicago style documents sources in one of two major ways. Either:

A combination of footnotes and/or endnotes AND a Bibliography following the end of your text listing the sources you utilized in full detail (i.e. Notes and Bibliography system)

OR
A combination of author-date style parenthetical citations in the body of your text and a Reference List following the end of your text listing the sources you utilized in full detail

The Notes and Bibliography system is the most commonly-utilized in disciplines that employ archival research methods. As such, this guide covers only that system.

The Notes & Bibliography System: Notes

Notes in Chicago style are intended to allow the writer to both cite sources and/or to provide commentary on them. These notes can take the form of footnotes (which appear in the footer of the page) or endnotes (which appear at the end of the text you are composing). Notes are typically numbered and correspond to the same superscripted number within the body of the text you are composing.

Generally, footnotes or endnotes include the following components, all of which are separated by commas.

Rather than duplicate all this information every time the same source is cited, provide a shortened form of the note for the next use. This shortened form can include the author’s last name, a shortened form of the title of the source, and the specific page being referenced.

Some components are accompanied by notes and information about slight adjustments that are likely needed for citing archival material in particular.

Author name,

Listed in natural order, First Name Last Name. If there is no author, as may be the case with archival material, skip to the title of the source. If citing a letter, begin with the name of the writer and then "to" the name of the recipient.

Title of the source,

(Facts of publication),

Listed in parentheses. For published print sources, this usually includes the City: the Publisher, the publication year. The facts of publication may be omitted for some archival material.

Page numbers and other locators.

For archival materials, generally include the following here, separated by commas:

The date in the format Day Month Year,
The medium of the source if it is important to know and not already clear, such as a photograph,
The box and folder number,
The call number,
The collection title,
The name of the library or archive containing the item,
The location of the library or archive, unless the repository is well-known.

The Notes & Bibliography System: Bibliography

The major distinctions between Chicago-style notes and bibliography entries for archival material are that

“in a note, the main elements of a manuscript citation is usually a specific item (a letter, a memorandum, or whatever) and is thus cited first. In a bibliography, the main element is usually either the collection in which the specific item may be found, the author(s) of the items in the collection, or the depository for the collection. (Entries beginning with the name of the collection or the last name of the author—which sometimes overlap—tend to be easiest to locate in a bibliography). Specific items are not included in a bibliography unless only one item from a collection is cited” (14.222).

Entries in the Bibliography are alphabetized, rather than numerically listed in the order of their appearance as they are in the Notes.

The Bibliography still shares many of the same information of the Notes. The major differences are in the ordering of information and its formatting. Minor formatting differences include:

Rather than commas, the components are separated by periods.
The facts of publication do not appear in parentheses.
The author’s name (or the first author, if there are multiple) is changed to a Last Name, First Name order.

Examples of Citations in Chicago Style

The following are example citations for various sources and source types located in Kenneth Spencer Research Library’s holdings. Remember that citing sources isn’t an exact science. You may need to tweak the citations shown here depending on factors such as the context of your project or instructions from your instructor. Be sure to use these examples in conjunction with the Chicago Manual of Style.

Letter

First note: Sarah J. Ogden to Sarah A. Kimball, 31 January 1859, Box 1, Folder 5, RH MS 802, Pillsbury Family Papers, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Subsequent notes: Sarah J. Ogden to Sarah A. Kimball, 31 January 1859, Pillsbury Family Papers.

Hint: Follow the same format – plus box and/or folder numbers – if citing a different document from the same collection.

Bibliography entry: Pillsbury Family. Papers. RH MS 802. Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Diary

First note: Lillian North, 24 December 1916, diary, MS B173, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Hint: The date refers to a specific entry, not the date range of the diary as a whole. Page numbers are omitted, as this diary’s pages are not explicitly numbered.

Subsequent notes: Lillian North diary, 24 December 1916.

Hint: Follow the same format if citing a different date from the same diary.

Bibliography entry: North, Lillian. Diary. MS B173. Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Photograph (Physical Item)

First note: Duke D’Ambra, “Dr. James Naismith (left) and Dr. Forrest "Phog" Allen (right),” 1932, photograph, folder “Naismith w/ Phog Allen,” RG 66/22, Athletic Department: Coaches and Staff Photographs, University Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Subsequent notes: Duke D’Ambra, “Dr. James Naismith (left) and Dr. Forrest "Phog" Allen (right),” 1932, Athletic Department: Coaches and Staff Photographs.

Hint: Follow the same format – plus box and/or folder numbers – if citing a different photograph from the same collection.

Bibliography entry: Athletic Department: Coaches and Staff. Photographs. RG 66/22. University Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Photograph (Digital Item)

First note: Duke D’Ambra, “Dr. James Naismith (left) and Dr. Forrest "Phog" Allen (right),” 1932, photograph, KU Libraries Digital Collections, University Archives Photographs, accessed 16 January 2020, https://digital.lib.ku.edu/ku-uaphotos/3335.

Subsequent notes: “Phog Allen at his desk with three others,” 1950, photograph, KU Libraries Digital Collections, University Archives Photographs, accessed 16 January 2020, https://digital.lib.ku.edu/ku-uaphotos/4625.

Hint: No photographer is listed for this image. This is a different item than the one above. Since it will not be included in the bibliography (see below), use a full citation even though the item is part of the same collection.

Bibliography entry: [None]

Hint: Section 14.207 states that “citations of website content can often be limited to the notes; in works with no notes, they may be included in the bibliography (cited by the owner or sponsor of the site).”

Item in a University Archives Record Group

First note: Women’s Student Government Association, “Constitution and By-Laws of the Women’s Student Government Association,” 1909, Box 1 Records 1909-1947, Folder 1909, RG 67/43, Women’s Student Government Association Records, University Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Subsequent notes: Women’s Student Government Association, “Constitution and By-Laws,” Women’s Student Government Association Records.

Hint: Follow the same format – plus box and/or folder numbers – if citing a different document from the same collection.

Bibliography entry: Women’s Student Government Association Records. RG 67/43. University Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.

Hint: Some records in University Archives have subsections that are important to note in a citation. For example, the correspondence of each Chancellor is frequently subdivided into sections such as “General,” “State,” and “Departmental.” These sections also frequently have multiple boxes with the same number that are differentiated by the date range of the records included, e.g. Box 1 for the year 1925 and Box 1 for the year 1930. When citing these records, it’s important to be as specific as possible, including all subsection names, box numbers, box date ranges, and folder names/numbers.