Archives documents and collections are not included in the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition. Please consult the APA Style website for more details on standards and procedures. For more information on how to cite additional archival formats, consult the APA Style page on Archival Documents and Collections. 

Reference List Basic Format 

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.

In-text Citation Basic Format

(Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year)

About Chicago Style for Archival Materials

There are two different systems for citing sources in Chicago Style: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. Be sure to check your assignment to determine which citation style you should use.

Be sure to consult The Chicago Manual of Style or the online quick guide for detailed standards and procedures. Most of the guidelines for citing archival material can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style under sections for “Manuscript Collections.” 

Notes and Bibliography

In the Notes and Bibliography system, sources are cited at the bottom of the page in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are then listed in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper.

Notes - General Format

• 1. Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection number or identifier, box number, folder number, Collection Name, Name of Repository, Location of Repository. URL if applicable.
• In a note, the title of the item should be cited first and quotation marks are only used for specific titles. If they are part of the heading appearing on the manuscript, they can be capitalized, but if used only as descriptors, they can be lowercase.

Notes - Shortened 

• Subsequent citations for the same document, or if using other documents from the same collection, may be shortened. The shortened form is added in brackets at the end of the first citation.

First Citation

• Typescript of short story “Red Shoes” by John M Weatherwax, n.d., SPC.2015.005, box 2, folder 5, John M. Weatherwax Collection, Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA (hereafter cited as Typescript, John M. Weatherwax Collection).

Subsequent Citation

• Typescript, John M. Weatherwax Collection.

Bibliography - General Format

• Last Name, First Name of author. Name of Collection. Name of Repository, Location of Repository.
• In a bibliography, references should be listed alphabetically and begin either with the name of the collection or the last name of the author. 
• If only using one item from a collection, you may include the title or a description of the item in the bibliography.
• Example: Weatherwax, John M. Typescript of short story “Red Shoes”, n.d., John M. Weatherwax Collection. Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA.

Notes

1. Lilian Horsford to Mary Katherine Horsford, October 19th, 1910, MC 50, box 50, folder 11, Horsford Family Papers, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Bibligraphy

Horsford Family Papers. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

2. Photograph of Main Building exterior, n.d., Photograph Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

3. Aime Dupont Studio photograph of [Emily Warren Roebling], n.d., Roebling Collection, box 32, folder 11, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

The use of “n.d.” in the first example indicates that the photograph does not have a date.

Bibliography

Photograph Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Roebling Collection, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Some examples of text documents can include: notes, typescripts, manuscripts, clippings, and diaries.

Notes

4. Typescript of "Lecture I. Mental Habits for a Student" by Rev. Dr. Nathan S. Beman, circa 1850, 1988-14, box 3. Small Collections, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Bibliography

Nathan S. Beman Lecture. Small Collections. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Some examples of graphic material can include: cartoons, comics, prints, drawings, and broadsides.

Notes

5. Manhattan Iron & Glass workers, painted sketch, n.d. MC 43 Frederic Dana Marsh Collection, box 1, folder 8, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Bibliography

Frederic Dana Marsh Collection. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Some examples of ephemera can include: broadsides, postcards, and posters.

Notes

6. Troy, St. Josephs Seminary, postcard, 1909, AC 15 Postcard Collection, box 3, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

If using an approximate date, place the date in brackets and add a question mark to indicate uncertainty.

Bibliography

1909 AC 15 Postcard Collection. Institute Archives and Special Collections, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.