Map Citation Guide
This page includes sample citations for maps from the North Carolina Maps project using formats specified by the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the Chicago Manual of Style. To obtain a short, stable URL for a map in the online collection, click on the "reference url" link in the upper left corner of the page on which the map appears. This will open a new window with a URL that can be copied and pasted into citations.
Citing Digital Maps in MLA Style
(From the MLA Handbook, 6th ed., sections 5.8.8 and 5.9.9f)
Citation Format
Title of map. Descriptive label. City of publication: Publisher, date. Title of Online Collection. Date of posting. Database. Sponsoring institution. Day Month Year of access < URL >.
Example from North Carolina Maps
Carolina Newly Discribed. Map. [London]: A. Godbid and J. Playford, circa 1682. North Carolina Maps. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 25 June 2009 < http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/ncmaps,350 >.
Citing Digital Maps in Chicago Style
(From the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., sections 17.270 and 17.141)
Citation Format
Author last name, First name Middle initial. Title of Work. Format. City: Publishing Company, copyright date. Source, Collection. Medium, URL (Date accessed).
Example from North Carolina Maps
Fielding, John. A Map of the United States of America, as settled by the Peace of 1783. Map. London: John Fielding, 1783. From North Carolina State Archives, North Carolina Maps. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/ncmaps,735 (accessed June 25, 2009).
Additional Sources
Library of Congress, American Memory
The Library of Congress offers an excellent guide on "How to Cite Electronic Sources" at http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/citing.html.
UNC-Chapel Hill University Library
For more information about citation, including why to cite materials, as well as brief introductions to various styles of citation (including MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE/CBE), see the UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries' Citation Guide at http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/citations/.
