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Using Archives at MSU

A guide for using primary sources and archives available at Montana State University

Preferred Citations

MSU finding aids and digital collections all contain a Preferred Citation note to help researchers cite resources they find in the archives.

  • Preferred Citation for Physical Archives
    • Creator Name, Date of Creation, Brief Description of Object, Folder Number, Box Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
  • Preferred Citation for Digital Archives
    • Title of Digital Object, Name of Digital Collection, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT, URL Link of Digital Object

Style Guides

Most style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, or APA will have a preferred formatting for archives. MSU’s preferred citation indicates the information that needs to be included in a citation, but that information can be rearranged to fit the style guide used by the researcher.

APA

  • In-Text Citation: (Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year)
  • Reference List: Author last name, First Initial. (year month day). Title [Description of material]. Name of collection (Collection number or identifier, Box number, Folder number). Name of repository, Location of repository. Retrieved from URL if applicable.

Chicago Manual of Style

  • Footnote: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection number or identifier, box number, folder number, Collection Name, Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT. URL if applicable.
  • Bibliography: Last Name, First Name of author. Name of Collection. Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

MLA

  • In-Text Citation
    • Author Known: Author’s last name in parentheses after the quote or paraphrase
    • Author Unknown: Title or description of the work being cited in quotation marks in parentheses after the quote or paraphrase
  • Works Cited: Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title or description of material. Day month year. Collection Name. Collection identifier, Box number, Folder number. Name of repository, Location of repository. URL if applicable.