MLA Format for Electronic Citations

Citing Computer Software Published on Diskette

Cite a diskette publication as you would a book, but add a description of the medium publication.  Your entry in the works-cited list should consist of the following item:

1.        Name of the author (if given)

2.        Title of the part of the work, if relevant (in quotation marks)

3.        Title of the product (underlined, italicized, or in bold type)

4.        Edition, release, or version (if relevant)

5.        Publication medium (Diskette)

6.        City of publication

7.        Name of the publisher

8.        Year of publication

Citing Material Accessed from a Database on CD-ROM

A.      If a printed source or analogue is indicated for the material you are citing, your entry in the works-cited list should consist of the following items:

1. Name of the author (if given) Publication information for the printed source or analogue (including title and date of print publication)
2. Title of the database (underlined, italicized, or in bold type) Publication medium (CD-ROM)
3. Name of the vendor (if relevant) Electronic publication date

Examples from CHS LMC:

Last name of author or editor, First name.  "Title of chapter or essay."  Title of book the essay is borrowed from.  Ed. [editor's name, if given].  City:  Publisher, Date.  Masterplots Complete CD-ROM.  CD-ROM.  Salem Press, 2000.

Last name of author or editor, First name.  Title of Book.  QuickVerse.  Version 2007.  CD-ROM.  Hiawatha, Iowa:  Parson's Technology, 2007.

B.       If no printed source or printed analogue is indicated for the material you are citing, your entry in the works-cited list should consist of the following items:

1. Name of the author (if given) Title of the material accessed (in quotation marks)
2. Date of the material (if given) Title of the database (underlined, italicized, or in bold type)
3. Publication medium (CD-ROM) Name of the vendor (if relevant)
4. Electronic publication date

Citing Online Databases

The documentation style for electronic sources presented here is consistent with MLA's guidelines, which can be found at http://www.mla.org.    When an Internet address in a works cited entry must be divided at the end of a line, break it after a slash.  Do not insert a hyphen.

A.   Online scholarly project or reference database:

1. For an online source accessed from within a larger scholarly project or reference database, begin with the author (if any), last name, first name.
2. Title of article or book (use quotation marks for titles of short works such as poems and articles; underline or italicize book and periodical titles). Editors, translators, or illustrators (if any).
3. Publication information (Place: publisher, date) for any print version of the source.
4. Title of database.
5. Author or editor of the project or database.
6. Date of electronic publication (or latest update).
7. Page or paragraph numbers (if any). Name of any institution or organization sponsoring or associated with the site.
8. Date of access, followed by no period Electronic address, or URL, of the source (in angle brackets), followed by a period.

B.    Personal or professional web site:

1. Creator of site (if available). Title of site (underlined), or description, such as "Home page" if no title.
2. Date of publication or of the latest update. The name of any organization associated with the site.
3. Date of access, followed by no period Electronic address, or URL, of the site (in angle brackets), followed by a period.

C.       Online book:

1. Include all available information required for printed books, followed by… Date of access, and
2. The URL <in angled brackets>.

If the online book is part of a scholarly project or reference database, follow any information about the printed book with information about the project or database (as explained in Letter A above).

D.      Article in an online periodical:

1. Follow the guidelines for printed articles, then add… Online source information (see Letter A above),
2. Date of access, and The URL (in angle brackets).

E.       Work from an online subscription service, such as AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, etc.:

1. Give the information about the source (see Letter A above). Name of the service, such as America Online.
2. If accessed at a library, name of library. Date of access, followed by a period.
3. Keyword(s) used to retrieve the source (note the SIRS example which follows).

F.       Online posting:

1. Author's name. Title or subject line (in quotation marks).
2. Posting date. The words:  Online posting.
3. The list or group name. Any identifying number of the posting.
4. The date of access, followed by no period The URL in angled brackets, or e-mail address of the list, followed by a period.

Examples of CHS/CJHS Library Media Center online citations:

Last name of author, First name of author.  “Title of article.”  Title of the Periodical.  Volume no. or issue no. if given.  (Date of article article (abbreviate names of months except May, June, and July)):  page no.  SIRS Knowledge Source.    Christian High School Lib., El Cajon, CA.  Date of access <http://ars.sirs.com>. 

Morse, Jodie.  “The 9/11 Kid.”  Time.  9 Sept. 2002:  48-57.  SIRS Knowledge Source.     Christian High School Lib., El Cajon, CA.  5 Nov. 2004 <http://ars.sirs.com>.  

West, Elliott.  “Gold Rush (U.S. History).”  Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.  Christian High School Lib., El Cajon, CA.  5 Nov. 2004  <http://go.grolier.com>.

Dickinson, Emily.  “Afraid!  Of Whom Am I Afraid?”  Poetry in English: an Anthology, 1987.  Columbia Granger’s Poetry Database.  2007.  Christian High School Library, El Cajon, CA.  16 Apr. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com>.

“Commentary on ‘I Felt a Funeral in my Brain’.” .  Columbia Granger’s Poetry Database.  2007.  Christian High School Library, El Cajon, CA.  16 Apr. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Revised April 2007