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Chicago Citations

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

Images - Basic Rules

The main elements of a bibliography entry for an image follows many of the general rules, with the exception of medium information (CMOS 14.235):

Image creator(s). Image title. Creation or completion date. Medium information. Location. URL, permalink, DOI, or library research database name (if applicable).

  • Image creator(s) - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re author names.  
  • Image title - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re titles of complete works.
  • Creation or completion date - as accurate a date as is available should be given.  For example, "August 27, 1975"; "1915"; "November 1958."
  • Medium information - for works of art, museums often provide descriptive medium information, such as "oil on canvas, 81.9 x 117.5 cm." Otherwise descriptive words such as "photograph," "illustration," "drawing," "map," and so on can be used (CMOS 3.29-3.37).
  • Location - can identify where a work of art is housed or simply the source of the image. For example, "Philadelphia Museum of Art"; "National Geographic."
  • URL, permalink, DOI, or library research database name (if applicable) - see "Bibliography - Online Addresses and Access Dates."

Images - Examples

Newspaper photograph from library research database:

Matt, Slocum. Super Bowl Parade Eagles Football. February 8, 2018. Photograph. Associated Press Images Collection.

A work of art belonging to a museum:

Eakins, Thomas. The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton. 1900. Oil on canvas, 208.3 x 106.7 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Audio and Video - Basic Rules

The main elements of a bibliography entry for sound recordings (including podcasts) and videos are (CMOS 14.261):

Composer(s), writer(s), performers(s), or whoever is most relevant. Title of work. Additional information (if applicable). Publication information. Medium or format. Any other relevant information (if applicable). URL, permalink, DOI, library research database name, application, device, format, or medium (if applicable).

  • Composer(s), writer(s), performers(s), or whoever is most relevant - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re author names.  Choosing who to list here depends on relevance to your work.  For example, if the performer was most important to your work, you might list them here.  As it makes sense include information such as "composer," "vocalist," "director," etc. 
  • Title of work - see "Bibliography - Basic Rules" re titles of complete works.
  • Additional information (if applicable) - can include things like date of performance and where recorded.
  • Publication information - can include publication date and publisher name.
  • Medium or format - "Compact Disc," "Blu-ray Disc," "DVD," "MP3," etc.
  • Any other relevant information (if applicable).
  • URL, permalink, DOI, or library research database name - see "Bibliography - Online Addresses and Access Dates."

Audio and Video - Examples

A video from a library research database:

Davis, Tamra, dir. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Arthouse Films, 2009. Kanopy.

A video of a speech from a website that includes additional and other relevant information:

Rowling, J.K. "The Fringe Benefits of Failure." Filmed June 5, 2008 at Harvard University. TED Best of the Web video, 20:58. Commencement address. https://www.ted.com/talks/jk_rowling_the_fringe_benefits_of_failure.

A downloadable audiobook:

Gaiman, Neil. Norse Mythology. Read by Neil Gaiman. New York: HarperAudio, 2018. Audible audio ed., 6 hr., 29 min.