Southern Maryland Studies Center Research

Many archives will reproduce archival records when asked, usually for a small fee. Reproduction of archival material is subject to the terms and conditions of the Copyright Act. The researcher is responsible for determining copyright ownership and obtaining permission to publish any copyrighted materials.

Please remember to properly cite the SMSC, College of Southern Maryland, and the individual collections consulted when publishing results obtained through the use of the SMSC’s materials. Citing a primary source document, from an archives, varies depending on the preference of your instructor, the publication you are submitting the article, or the discipline in which you are operating. The particular style may be the Chicago Manual of Style, the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), etc.

There are several elements to the citation which may be necessary to properly cite a document:

• The document: The creator or author, specific item title, page, section, date.
• Box and folder number: The majority of materials found in archives are housed in some sort of container and within the container the various items are separated in folders.
• Repository: This is the name of the archives.

Chicago Style

Item Title, Day Month YYYY, Box #, Folder #, Collection, Southern Maryland Studies Center, College of Southern Maryland.

MLA Style

Creator/Author Last Name, First Name.  Item Title. Day Month YYYY.  Collection. Southern Maryland Studies Center, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata.

APA Style

Creator/Author Last Name, First Initial. (YYYY, Month Day). [Item Title].  Collection, Southern Maryland Studies Center (Box #, Folder #), College of Southern Maryland, La Plata, MD.