MLA Citation Help: Archives

In the MLA 8th edition, a work's format ("book," "webpage," "database article," etc.) isn't the most important consideration (if you're not sure where to start in NoodleTools, check here).

Cite everything by using the MLA list of Core Elements (info common to most works) in this specific order:

1. Author's last name, First name.
2. "Title of Source."
3. Title of Container,
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location. [where is it? page numbers in a book, URL if it's a website, etc.]
10. (if necessary:) 2nd Container’s Title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

If you have looked hard for a piece of information but cannot find it, skip it.

There is often more than one way to correctly cite a source. If you have a question about citation, ask Ms. Biancolo or your teacher.

The following is an example of a good citation. In this example, my article only has the highlighted elements, so I skip the ones my article doesn't have:

1. Author.
2. "Title of Source."
3. Title of Container,
4. Other Contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location. 
10. (if necessary:) 2nd Container’s Title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

Cunningham, Paige Winfield. "The Hopeful News About Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine is Extremely Preliminary." Washington Post, 19 May 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624329670/OVIC?u=mlin_c_woracd&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=e373f807.

You would not cite "Google Images" any more than you would cite "Google" "Yahoo," or "Baidu." Google is a search tool to find websites.  If you find an image that you would like to use through Google Images, you must click through to the original website and cite THAT. 

Image is in a Museum or University Archive:

Free Hospital for Women, 1875-1965. Operating Room #2 (Left Side). Women Working, 1800-1930, Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, 1911, ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/vcsearch.php?any=free+hospital+for+women&genre=photographs. Accessed 8 Oct. 2013.

Image is in an Online Version of a Newspaper or Magazine Story:

Whall, James. View of the Exterior From the Front Lawn. From YMCA to NBA, Basketball Hall of Fame Reflects Rich, Complex History of the Game, 9 Oct. 2011, www.nj.com/travel-outside-nj/index.ssf/2011/10/from_ymca_to_nba_basketball_hall_of_fame_reflects_rich_complex_history_of_the_game_1.html. Accessed 12 Nov. 2015.

Image is on a Web Forum (like Flickr):

Haukur, H. Gullfoss (Golden Falls). Iceland, Beautiful Places to Visit, 18 May 2010, beautifulplacestovisit.com/waterfalls/gullfoss-golden-falls-iceland/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2013.

Image is from a Database:

Vermeer, Johannes. Allegory of Painting. c. 1666–7. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/img/grove/art/F015501. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017.

There is no Title of the Source, so I've used a simple description: 

Roosevelt, Eleanor. Correspondence with Frances Perkins. Selected Digitized Correspondence of Eleanor Roosevelt, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Lib. and Museum, www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/ersel/ersel075.pdf. Accessed 9 April 2015.