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Citing Archives: Finding Aids

Finding aids are created by archivists and contain contextual information about the archival materials they describe. This information may come directly from the donor or record creator(s) and may not be available through other sources.

Using an item from the archives?

A credit line must be given for the publication, exhibition, presentation, or use of reproductions from the NBCA. Credit line to be written in the manner as follows:

Northern BC Archives, UNBC Accession No. ______.

Other Archival Citation Guides

Library and Archives Canada: How to Cite Archival Sources

If you are not required to use a specific citation style guide, we recommend using the How to Cite Archival Sources guide by Library and Archives Canada to cite archival sources.

View their guidelines and examples here: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services-public/access-documents/Pages/archival-sources.aspx

Citing Archival Finding Aids

Chicago Style

Print/PDF Version Examples

Footnotes:

  1. Northern British Columbia Archives & Special Collections, The Honourable Iona Campagnolo fonds: Accession No. 2009.6 (Prince George, BC: University of Northern British Columbia, n.d.), 16, https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/downloads/honourable-iona-campagnolo-fonds.pdf
  2. Northern British Columbia Archives, The Honourable Iona Campagnolo fonds, 20.
  3. Northern British Columbia Archives & Special Collections, Aleza Lake Research Forest fonds: Accession No. 2007.1 (Prince George, BC: University of Northern British Columbia, 2019), 5, https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/downloads/aleza-lake-research-forest-fonds.pdf

Bibliography:

Northern British Columbia Archives & Special Collections. The Honourable Iona Campagnolo fonds: Accession No. 2009.6. Prince George, BC: University of Northern British Columbia, n.d. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/downloads/honourable-iona-campagnolo-fonds.pdf

Northern British Columbia Archives & Special Collections. Aleza Lake Research Forest fonds: Accession No. 2007.1. Prince George, BC: University of Northern British Columbia, 2019. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/downloads/aleza-lake-research-forest-fonds.pdf

Author-Date:

In-text: The Aleza Lake Research Forest was first opened in 1924 under the name Aleza Lake Experiment Station (NBCA 2019, 5). 

*When referencing two or more finding aids with the same date and from the same institution in a paper, include shortened title information in the in-text citation: (NBCA, Iona Campagnolo fonds, n.d.)

Reference list:

NBCA (Northern British Columbia Archives & Special Collections). 2019. Aleza Lake Research Forest fonds: Accession No. 2007.1. Prince George, BC: University of Northern British Columbia. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/downloads/aleza-lake-research-forest-fonds.pdf

Webpage Examples

Footnotes:

  1. "Fonds 2009.6 - The Honourable Iona Campagnolo fonds," Northern BC Archives, accessed April 10, 2019, https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/honourable-iona-campagnolo-fonds

Bibliography:

Northern BC Archives. "Fonds 2009.6 - The Honourable Iona Campagnolo fonds." Accessed April 10, 2019. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/honourable-iona-campagnolo-fonds

Author-Date:

In-text: (NBCA, n.d.)

Reference list:

NBCA (Northern BC Archives). n.d. "Fonds 2007.1 - Aleza Lake Research Forest fonds." Accessed April 10, 2019. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/aleza-lake-research-forest-fonds

APA

There are no guidelines for citing archival finding aids in the APA Style Guide. We recommend citing finding aids in the same way other archival contents is cited.

In-text citations:

Enclose the author's surname and date in brackets (and/or the title if the author is unknown or you are citing multiple works by that author with the same date).

(Author, date)

Reference list:

General format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of material. [Description of material]. Name of Collection (Identification number, box #, file# or name, etc.), Name and location of repository. URL.

Examples:

Northern BC Archives. (n.d.). Adam Zimmerman fonds. [Finding Aid]. Adam Zimmerman fonds (2003.8), Northern BC Archives, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/zimmerman

For more guidance/examples, refer to the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association section on Archival Documents and Collections.

MLA

In-text citations:

Give enough information to identify the source in the works-cited. Usually the author’s surname is sufficient, and/or title if citing multiple works by the same author, or an item with no known author.

Works-Cited List:

Example created through the MLA template.

Digital Finding Aid:

Northern BC Archives. "Fonds 2009.7 - Archdeacon W. H. Collison fonds." Northern BC Archives, University of Northern British Columbia, https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/archdeacon-w-h-collison-fonds. Accessed 16 April 2019.

Print Finding Aid:

Northern BC Archives & Special Collections. W.H. Collison fonds Accession No. 2009.7: File Level Inventory. University of Northern British Columbia, n.d., Prince George, BC. https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/uploads/r/northern-bc-archives-special-collections/b/c/0/bc0a70c06aaf46ed8b16cab71e8669352e1d4ce9492f844b1eb94813a6e1c390/Collison_fonds_File_Inventory-edited.pdf. Accessed 16 April 2019.

Contact Us

Northern BC Archives & Special Collections

Location
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC
4th Floor of UNBC Library

Drop-in Visits
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Confirm availability: 250-960-5592

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Email: archives@unbc.ca

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Phone: 250-960-6603

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Phone: 250-960-5592