Library Guides: Chicago Referencing Guide: Books & eBooks

Books vs eBooks

Books v eBooks

In most cases eBooks are referenced the same way as a print book. However, if you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference. Also note, that if a book (print or eBook) has a DOI, then you should add that at the end of the reference.

One author

Format

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Coates, Glen. 2002. The Rise and Fall of the Southern Alps. Christchurch, NZ: Canterbury University Press.

In-Text

... (Coates 2022).

Coates (2022, 69) ...

Notes

Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Two authors

Format

Author Last Name, First Name, and Author First Name Last Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Shadbolt, Maurice, and Olaf Ruhen. 1971. Isles of the South Pacific. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.

In-Text

... (Shadbolt and Ruhen 1971).

Shadbolt and Ruhen (1971, 63-64) ...

Notes

Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Three authors

Format

Author Last Name, First Name, Author First Name Last Name, and Author First Name Last Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Berkman, Alexander, Henry Bauer, and Carl Nold. 2011. Prison Blossoms: Anarchist Voices from the American Past. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137392848

In-Text

... (Berkman, Bauer and Nold 2011).

Berkman, Bauer, and Nold (2011) ...

Notes

Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
The first author is listed by surname and then first name. Following authors are listed by first name, then surname.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Four to ten authors

Format

Author Last Name, First Name, Author First Name Last Name, Author First Name Last Name, and Author First Name Last Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Smith, John, Paul Baker, Henry Herring, and Carla Conner. 2010. History: Past, Present and Future. 2nd ed. Oxford: Barker Press.

In-Text

... (Smith et al. 2010).

Smith et al. (2010) ...

Notes

In the in-text citation use only the first authors surname and add et al.
Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

11 or more authors

For works with more than ten authors, only the first seven should be listed in the reference list, followed by et al. In-text citations use only the first author, followed by et al.

Group/Organisation author

Format

Group Author. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Independent Evaluation Group. 2008. The Welfare Impact of Rural Electrification: A Reassessment of the Costs and Benefits. Chicago: The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7367-5

ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 1997. Information and Documentation: Rules for the Abbreviation of Title Words and Titles of Publications. Paris: ISO.

In-Text

... (Independent Evaluation Group 2008).

Independent Evaluation Group (2008) ...

... (ISO 1997).

ISO (1997) ...

Notes

An abbreviation can be used for the organisation in-text. The reference entry must then be alphabetised under that abbreviation (rather than the spelled-out name) in the reference list. The full name is put in brackets after the acronym in the reference list.
Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Chapter in an edited book

Format

Chapter Author Last Name, First Name. Year. "Title of the Chapter in Quotation Marks Title Case." In Title of the Book in Italic Title Case, edited by First Name Last Name of the Editor, Page Range of the Chapter. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Neilson, William. 2005. "Physical Activity, Participation and Disability." In Learners With Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand. 3rd ed., edited by Deborah Fraser, Roger Moltzen, and Ken Ryba, 411-422. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

In-Text

... (Neilson 2005).

Neilson (2005, 414) ...

Notes

If a book has chapters written by different authors and the whole book has been put together by an editor or editors, it is referenced as a chapter in an edited book.
As each chapter is written by different authors, you need to provide a separate reference for each chapter you have used.
The page numbers of the chapter are also required (this shows the page range of the whole chapter as it falls within the book, not just the pages you used).
Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Works in another language

Format

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. [Translation of the title in sentence case]. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Murakami, Harry. 2013. Shikisai o Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi [Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage]. Chiyoda, Tokyo: Bungeishunju.

In-Text

... (Murakami 2013).

Murakami (2013, 25) ...

Notes

Include a translation of the book title in square brackets in sentence case if a book’s language is different from your paper’s language. The translation does not have to be literal, but use appropriate grammar and punctuation in the translated title.
Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Republished in translation

Format

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of the Work in Italic Title Case. Translated by First Name Last Name of Translator. Edition information if 2nd edition or higher. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Sartre, Jean.-Paul. 2012. Imagination: A Psychological Critique. Translated by Kenneth Williford and David Rudrauf. London: Routledge.

In-Text

... (Sartre 1936/2012).

Sartre (1936/2012) ...

Notes

Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If you find the book via a search engine rather than our library's databases and it has a stable URL, then put this URL at the end of the reference.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.

Audiobook

Format

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. Title in Italic Title Case. Read by First Name Last Name of the Reader. Place of Publication: Publisher. Audiobook Provider in Title Case, total length in minutes. URL of Provider

Reference List

Williams, Sue. 2016. The Girl Who Climbed Everest. Read by Hannah Norris. Melbourne, Australia UK: Bolinda Publishing. Audible Australia, 527. https://adbl.co/36UORI7

In-Text

... (Williams 2016).

Williams (2016, 1:27) ...

Notes

Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.
If the book is the second edition or higher, include this after the title unitalicised, e.g. Title of the Book. 2nd ed.
If using an audio book from a provider such as Audible, provide the URL.
For direct quotations give the time stamp in the in-text citation, e.g. (Smith, 2022, 12:23)

Multivolume works

Format

One volume/book of a multi-volume work with different titles

Author Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication for Specific Volume. Title of the Volume in Italic Title Case. Edited by First Name Last Name. Vol. number of Title of the MultiVolume Set in Italic Title Case. Place of Publication: Publisher, Years(s) of Publication. URL or DOI (formatted as https://doi.org/10####)

Reference List

Churchill, Winston S. 1956. The Birth of Britain. Vol. 1 of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1956-58.

In-Text

... (Churchill 1956).

Churchill (1956) ...

Notes

If the work has not yet been completed, after the publisher put the date of the first volume followed by a dash and full stop.
When a book is part of a series of conceptually related but separate works (e.g. Harry Potter series), include only the book title, not the series title in the reference, i.e. just reference it as you would a regular book.
There may not be an editor for the work, if so just go straight to the volume number information.
Title case means to capitalise the first letter of all the major words in the title and subtitle.
Where two or more cities are listed, use only the first. If the city might be confused with another city of the same name, add a country or US State abbreviation.