Q. I have a student who is using a letter from our archives. The letter is still under the ownership of the author, but the author is probably no longer living. How can my student use Chicago style to create a citation for a letter from the archives when the name of the author is being redacted by the student due to privacy laws?
A. Your student could cite the letter and write “[Redacted]” in place of the author name.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have a note for a summary of the countries that made airship purchases during a certain time frame, using a Jane’s publication to make this assessment. The relevant pages I referenced span the book—and as you can see below, I’m not just referencing a single page. Is there a better way to reference the fact that there are multiple pages, or is it better to leave all the pages listed, so people know exactly where the information came from?
1. Lord Ventry and Eugene Kolesnick, eds., Jane’s Pocket Book of Airships (Collier Books, 1976), 16, 18, 23, 31, 38–45, 47, 49, 52–53, 56–57, 60–61, 80–82, 89–90, 96, 113, 117, 121, 146, 155, 159–161, 163, 167–168, 170.
A. Listing so many pages is not ideal. If the book has an index, you needn’t worry about citing only the book itself. If it doesn’t have an index, then for particular audiences or in certain contexts you might list all the page numbers. If you can organize the page numbers into smaller groups (perhaps by country), readers will be grateful.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am editing a work that refers many times to music recordings (albums). When using notes and bibliography style, I assume that the full citation to the album should be put in the first footnote, and in subsequent footnotes a short form is called for. What components are needed for a shortened citation for a record album?
A. CMOS is silent, so choose the elements that make the most sense to you. Performer and title, orchestra and title, composer and title, conductor and title—it needn’t be the same choice for every citation. Note that the first element in a short citation should be the element it’s listed under in your bibliography.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. What’s the form for listing a journal with a volume number but no issue number? Ecological Economics 82, 23–32 or Ecological Economics 82: 23–32?
A. Use the second form, though without a space between colon and page numbers: Ecological Economics 82:23–32. See CMOS 14.70.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If I am writing out foreign book titles followed by the English title in parentheses, should the English titles appear in italics or quotations?
A. Chicago style writes the translation in plain text, no italics or quotes, and in sentence case rather than title case. Please see CMOS 13.101:
Koniec sojuszu trzech cesarzy [The end of the Three Emperors’ League]
If the book was published under an English title, however, then put the English title in italics as you would any other published book:
Furet, François. Le passé d’une illusion. Éditions Robert Laffont, 1995. Translated by Deborah Furet as The Passing of an Illusion (University of Chicago Press, 1999).
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In a dissertation that includes a lengthy biographical chapter sourced almost entirely by personal interviews, complex ecclesiastical archives (including diocesan newsletters, Vatican documents), and various personal letters, I, as editor, have used in-text referencing throughout except for that one chapter, for which I have used footnotes. Within that chapter, published books are also documented in-text. Is that combination of two methods of referencing acceptable? Or should I simply have used footnotes throughout because the interviews and archival information couldn’t be documented in-text?
A. Usually, a college or university’s dissertation office decides what is acceptable. If they don’t mind your system, we don’t!
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Dear CMOS: In making bibliographic entries, I am not finding a way to call attention to multilingual publications. It would be of great value to my international audience to know that the text of the publication is translated into two, three, or four languages. I worry that it is not clear which language is used in the text, or that the entirety of the text is presented in multiple languages. How could this be accomplished?
A. You could write after the citation something like “Includes translations into French, Spanish, and German.”
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Concerning the author-date system of references, we use in-text citations and many times in-text citations end up in footnotes. Some authors will write “See Author1 2011, 123–34, and Author2 2000, and Author3 2004.” Others would write “See Author1 (2011, 123–34), and Author2 (2000), and Author3 (2004).” Which is correct?
A. Both styles are popular and conform to Chicago style, though the first form, if used at all, should normally be reserved for notes that include source citations only, without additional commentary. For notes that consist of a mix of sources and commentary, the second form is best. Please see the examples throughout CMOS 13.115–28. Semicolons work well in place of and.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. CMOS gives a way to cite a book with two subtitles: by using a colon and then a semicolon between the three pieces of the title. What if the book I want to cite already has a colon printed between the first and second subtitles (no punctuation between title and first subtitle)? Is it okay to insert a colon between the title and first subtitle, then change the printed colon to a semicolon between the first and second subtitle?
A. When you say that there is no punctuation between the title and subtitle, it sounds as though you’re looking at a book cover or title page. Punctuation in a citation is not necessarily based on covers and title pages (“display type”), because there often isn’t any punctuation there. In display, the title may be set on its own line and given special treatment, like larger type or color, which conveys to the reader where the title stops and the subtitle begins.
Short answer: Yes, in a citation you must insert punctuation to convey where the title ends and where the first subtitle ends. You could check the Library of Congress information on the copyright page (or online, if not printed there) to confirm your impression. (The various subtitles are generally separated by colons there; in your citation, you can change a colon between two subtitles to a semicolon.)
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Titles of works should be italicized, but on social media sites (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) text cannot be formatted. In social posts, is it best to leave titles of works roman? Or do you recommend another way to designate titles of works using only plain text?
A. You can use “quotation marks” or ALL CAPS, or write _Title_ or *Title*.
[This answer relies on the 18th edition of CMOS (2024) unless otherwise noted.]