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Chicago Citations

Here is how to cite sources using Chicago 17 [seventeenth edition, 2017].

Entire Books - Basic Rules

The main elements of a bibliography entry for an entire book are (CMOS 14.100):

Author(s), editor(s), translator(s), compiler(s), or organization. Book title. Editor(s), compiler(s), or translator(s) (if applicable). Edition (if applicable). Volume (if applicable). Series title (if applicable). Where published:publisher, publication year. URL, permalink, DOI, library research database name, application, device, format, or medium (if applicable).

  • Author(s), editor(s), translator(s), compiler(s), or organization - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re author(s) or organization.  If no author or organization is given for a book, look for editor(s), translator(s), or compiler(s) to use. For editor(s), follow with "ed." or "eds."; for translator(s), "trans."; for compiler(s), "comp." or "comps." (CMOS 14.103).

  • Book title - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re titles of complete works.

  • Editor(s), compiler(s), or translator(s) (if applicable) - include if listed in addition to author.  Format is "first name last name" preceded by "Edited by,"  "Compiled by," or "Translated by" as applicable (CMOS 14.104).

  • Edition (if applicable) - this only applies if the book is not the first edition.  Shorten as much as possible - "4th ed.," "rev. ed." for "revised edition" (CMOS 14.113).

  • Volume (if applicable) - this only applies if the book is part of a multi-volume set.  You may cite the whole set ("6 vols.") or a single volume ("Vol. 3").

  • Series title (if applicable) - this only applies to a book which is part of a series. If there is a series title, it is capitalized headline-style (CMOS 14.123).

  • Where published: publisher, and publication year -

    • Where published - City where published; if more than one listed, use first; include state, province, or country if the city is not well known (CMOS 14.129-14.130) If no place is provided, use "n.p." (CMOS 14.132).

    • Publisher - the whole name may be used, though abbreviating is encouraged (CMOS 14.133).

    • Publication year - only year is needed for books; if no year is provided, use "n.d." (CMOS 14.142, 14.145).

  • URL, permalink, DOI, library research database name, application, device, format,or medium (if applicable) -

Entire Books - Examples

For examples of books with one author and no author, see "Bibliography - Basic Rules."

Book with editor, and illustrator credited:

Opie, Iona, ed. Here Comes Mother Goose. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1999.

Translated book with no publication year from a library research database:

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Translated by Constance Garnett. Grand Rapids, MI: Generic NL Freebook Publisher, n.d. EBSCO eBook Collection.

Edition of a book:

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: the Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.

Single volume of a multi-volume set:

Munson, Rosaria, ed. Herodotus. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Part of a series:

Curry, Anne. Agincourt. Great Battles. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Published someplace less well known:

Berleth, Richard. Bloody Mohawk: the French and Indian War and American Revolution on New York's Frontier. Hensonville, NY: Black Dome Press Corp., 2009.

From a website:

Kruty, Paul. Prelude to the Prairie Style: Eight Models of Unbuilt Houses by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1893-1901. Champaign, IL: School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062415677;view=1up;seq=3

Chapters or Other Parts of Books - Basic Rules

The main elements of a bibliography entry for a chapter or section of a book are very similar to those for an entire book, consisting of adding information regarding the chapter or section and rearranging some of the entire book information (CMOS 14.106):

Chapter or section author(s), editor(s), translator(s), compiler(s), or organization. "Chapter or section title." In book title, by author(s), editor(s), compiler(s), or translator(s) (if applicable), start page-end page or other location information (if applicable). Edition (if applicable). Volume (if applicable). Series title (if applicable). Where published:publisher, publication year. URL, permalink, DOI, library research database name, application, device, format, or medium.

  • Chapter or section author(s), editor(s), translator(s), compiler(s), or organization - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re author(s) or organization.  If no author or organization is given for a book, look for editor(s), translator(s), or compiler(s) to use. For editor(s), follow with "ed." or "eds."; for translator(s), "trans."; for compiler(s) "comp." or "comps." (CMOS 14.103)."
  • "Chapter or section title" - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re titles of subsections of complete works.
  • In book title - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re titles of complete works.
  • By author(s), editor(s), compiler(s), or translator(s) (if applicable)  - how this is handled depends on the citation. For instance, for a chapter in a multi author book, precede with "by" for an author, or "edited by," translated by," or "compiled by" as applicable (CMOS 14.107). For a chapter in a single author book, this may be left out here because the name is the first element of the bibliography entry (CMOS 14.106).
  • Start page-end page or other location information (if applicable) -  The format "chap. # in Book title" may be used here (CMOS 14.106). See also "Shortened Footnotes - Basic Rules."
  • Edition (if applicable)  - this only applies if the book is not the first edition.  Shorten as much as possible - "4th ed.," "rev. ed." for "revised edition" (CMOS 14.113).
  • Volume (if applicable) - this only applies if the book is part of a multi-volume set.  You may cite the whole set ("6 vols.") or a single volume ("Vol. 3").
  • Series title (if applicable) - this only applies to a book which is part of a series. If there is a series title, it is capitalized headline-style (CMOS 14.123).
  • Where published: publisher, and publication year -
    • Where published - City where published; if more than one listed, use first; include state, province, or country if the city is not well known (CMOS 14.129-14.130) If no place is provided, use "n.p." (CMOS 14.132).
    • Publisher - the whole name may be used, though abbreviating is encouraged (CMOS 14.133).
    • Publication year - only year is needed for books; if no year is provided, use "n.d." (CMOS 14.142, 14.145).
  • URL, permalink, DOI, library research database name, application, device, format,or medium -

Chapters or Other Parts of Books - Examples

Specific chapter of a single author book and a chapter number given (CMOS 14.106):

Bryson, Bill. "The Drawing Room." Chap. 7 in At Home: a Short History of Private Life. New York: Doubleday, 2013.

Chapter in a book with multiple authors using page numbers and with a series name (CMOS 14.107):

Stern, Reuben, and Sam Wilkinson. "'That's Just Like, Uh, Your Opinion, Man.' Jesus, the Dude, and Ordinary Language Philosophy." In The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom, edited by Peter S. Fosl, 237-50. Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2012.

For an example of a chapter in a book with multiple authors, two editors, part of a series, and from a library research database, see "Bibliography - Basic Rules."

Author for an introduction, preface, etc. who is different from the main author (CMOS 14.110):

Paine, Jeffery. "Grand Tour of All the Worlds." Introduction to The Huston Smith Reader, by Huston Smith, ix-xviii. Edited by Jeffery Paine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.

Reports, Pamphlets, Brochures etc. - Basic Rules

Freestanding publications such as reports (other than legislative and congressional; for these types see CMOS 14.281, 14.285), pamphlets, brochures, and so on are treated similarly to books, even though author and publisher information may not correspond exactly.  As usual, the objective is to provide enough information so readers can locate the source (CMOS 14.220).

Reports, Pamphlets, Brochures etc. - Examples

Research report from a government agency with individual authors:

Rajan, Kumar B., and Rekha S. Rajan. Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Participate in the Arts, an Analysis Based on the Health and Retirement Study. Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts, 2017.

Research report from a non-profit organization website with organization as author:

Pew Research Center. When Americans Say They Believe in God, What Do They Mean? April 25, 2018. http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/24152307/Beliefs-about-God-FOR-WEB-FULL-REPORT.pdf.

Annual report for a corporation from a website with organization as author and access date because no other date available:

21st Century Fox. 2017 Annual Report. Accessed May 24, 2018. https://www.21cf.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/21cf_full_final_ar_2017.pdf.

Pamphlet with an individual author and no publication location:

Ritchie, Susan J. The Flaming Chalice. N.p.: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2017.

Brochure with organization as author, no publication location, no publication date:

NAMM Foundation. Why Learn to Play Music? N.p.: NAMM Foundation, n.d.