Citing Archival Materials
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The primary purpose of a citation is to document your sources well enough so that you (and others) can retrieve them at a later date. Because archival materials are unique and rarely cataloged at the item level, special care is needed in citing records; otherwise, archives staff may not be able to locate the item again. When you are at the archives, note down information from the finding aid and from labels on the folder and box, even if not all the information is required in the citation itself. The particular style you use for footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies, dates, page and volume numbers, punctuation, and capitalization will depend on the style manual (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style or Modern Language Association). We are more concerned that all the needed elements are included in the citation. Generally, the more information you include, the better. Work from the specific to the general, the item to the collection, with as many steps in between as given. General citation formats: Manuscripts [item], [folder title], [series title (if any)], [collection name], [accession or manuscript number], [name of curatorial unit*], Special Collections Department & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Photograph Captions [description of image], [identification number or name], [name of curatorial unit*], Special Collections Department & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. *The curatorial units are: Southern Labor Archives; University Archives; Popular Music Collection; Georgia Government Documentation Project; Women's Collections; Rare Book Collection. Examples of citations: Note Forms Manuscripts Correspondence with series title Correspondence without series title Interviews Bibliographic Forms Manuscripts Lucia, Carmen. Papers, 1920-76. L1976-32, Southern Labor Archives, Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization Collection, L1986-45, Southern Labor Archives, Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Interviews Arnall, Ellis. Interview by James F. Cook, 17 March 1986, Ellis Arnall, Georgia Governors Series, Box A-1, Georgia Government Documentation Project, Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Photograph Captions Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting at the home of Jean Bach, New York City, 1971, M1981-1/564, Johnny Mercer Papers, Popular Music Collection, Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. 120 Decatur Street looking west towards Collins Street, ca.1949, LBGPNS03-203a, Lane Brothers Collection, Special Collections & Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Web Site Fishman, M., Causey, V., Woodrum, R., (2001). Work 'n' Progress: Stories in Southern Labor - The Southern Textile Industry. Retrieved April 2, 2003, from Georgia State University, Southern Labor Archives Web site: http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/Labor/work_n_progress/textiles.htm
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