Publications

Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States

General Information Leaflet, Number 17



Table of Contents
Introduction

In response to frequent requests from researchers, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offers the following guidelines for citing unpublished records it holds in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, and in the Regional Records Services facilities, the Presidential Libraries system, and Affiliated Archives. The guidelines cover citations to textual records, microform records, nontextual archives (i.e., photographic records, posters, motion pictures, tape recordings, cartographic records, and architectural drawings), electronic records, and online references.

Guidelines for citing publications of the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) and other Federal agencies are not given because they should follow the standard rules for footnotes to published materials found in The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents: A Manual for Writers and Librarians (Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 1984) by Diane L. Garner and Diane H. Smith. Microfilm publications of captured German and related records from World War II involve peculiarities of identification; for guidelines on how to cite them, consult NARA's guides to those records. For guidelines on how to cite records and microfilm containing genealogical information, see NARA's General Information Leaflet No. 5, Using Records in the National Archives for Genealogical Research.

Elements of Citations to Records of Federal Agencies

In general, citations to textual records of Federal agencies should identify the record item, the file unit, the series, the subgroup, the record group, and the repository. As noted later, nontextual records may require that additional information be cited. As a rule, a citation to archival records should contain as much information as necessary to allow someone to easily locate those records. The following example, which cites textual records, illustrates the various elements:

Example: Amos T. Ackerman, Attorney General, to Richard
Crowley, U.S. Attorney, New York, Nov. 23, 1871; Vol. C, Oct.
27, 1871-Apr. 23, 1873, p. 60; Instruction Books, 1870-1904;
General Records, Letters Sent, 1849-1919; General Records of the
Department of Justice, Record Group 60; National Archives
Building, Washington, DC.

Record Item:

Amos T. Ackerman, Attorney General, to Richard Crowley, U.S. Attorney, New York, Nov. 23, 1871

The record item is the specific document to which a citation refers. It may be a letter, a report, a photograph, a map, a motion picture, or an electronic database.

File Unit:

Vol. C, Oct. 27, 1871-Apr. 23, 1873, p. 60

The file unit is the unit of physical handling that encompasses a record item. For paper records, the file unit may be a file folder, a dossier, or a bound volume; for microfilm records, it is the roll.

Series:

Instruction Books, 1870-1904

The series is a set of record items or file units arranged according to a filing system or kept together because they relate to a particular subject or function, result from the same activity, document a specific kind of transaction, take a particular physical form, or have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use.

Subgroup:

General Records, Letters Sent, 1849-1919

The subgroup is a set of series, related by their common origin within an administrative unit or by their connection to a common function or activity. Subgroups may sometimes be formed on the basis of date or geography.

Record Group:

General Records of the Department of Justice, Record Group 60

The record group is a major archival unit that comprises the records of a large organization, such as a Government bureau or independent agency.

Repository:

National Archives Building, Washington, DC

The repository is the building or institution in which records are kept and public research needs are serviced.

A Few Things to Remember:

Do not cite box numbers. Box numbers may change when additional processing of the records is done.

The subgroup is very important, and there will often be multiple subgroups. The record group and series title alone usually are not enough to allow someone else to find the records since identical series titles may be found throughout a record group.

Questions about subgroup structure are usually answered by consulting the preliminary inventory or other finding aid that exists for those records. When in doubt, ask the archivist with whom you have been working.

After an initial citation, subsequent citations to the same record may be abbreviated.
Abbreviation symbols can be developed by researchers to fit their own needs. Parentheses should be used to enclose abbreviation symbols that appear in the initial citation. For instance, if a researcher expects to cite several times from the following example, the citation from page 1 might appear thus:

Amos T. Ackerman, Attorney General, to Richard Crowley, U.S. Attorney, New York, Nov. 23, 1871 (Ackerman to Crowley); Vol. C, Oct. 27, 1871-Apr. 23, 1873, p. 60 (Vol. C, p. 60); Instruction Books, 1870-1904 (IB 1870-1904); General Records, Letters Sent, 1849-1919 (Letters Sent, 1849-1919); General Records of the Department of Justice, Record Group 60 (RG 60); National Archives Building, Washington, DC (NAB).

In subsequent citations to this record, the citation elements would appear as follows:

Ackerman to Crowley; Vol. C, p. 60; IB 1870-1904; Letters Sent, 1849-1919; RG 60; NAB.

An alphabetical table may also be used to define abbreviation symbols, as shown here:

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library: FDRL
Herbert Hoover Library: HHL
National Archives Building, Washington, DC: NAB
National Archives at College Park, MD: NACP
National Archives and Records Administration--Pacific Region (San Francisco):
NARA--Pacific Region (SF)
Record Group: RG

Guidelines for Citing Textual Records

Note: In each of the following examples, the portion of the footnote covered by the accompanying rule is highlighted.

1. A record title should precede a file number when both appear in the same citation.

Request for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Case File 220; General Case Files; United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Southern Division (Springfield); Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives and Records Administration--Great Lakes Region (Chicago).

2. The file number is the initial citation element when the record or file unit title cannot be cited.

File 2657-I-281/120; Declassified General Correspondence, 1917-1941; Military Intelligence Division; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

3. When records are in bound volumes, cite the page and volume numbers.

W.H. Shock, Bureau of Steam Engineering, to Rear Adm. G.H. Cooper, Commandant, New York Navy Yard, February 20, 1882; p. 281, Letter Book 15 S.E., New York Navy Yard; Letters Received from the Bureau of Steam Engineering; Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, Record Group 181; National Archives and Records Administration--Northeast Region (New York City).

4. Citations should indicate enclosures and consolidated files.

Special Order 156, Department of Dakota, Oct. 14, 1869, enclosed in letter from Maj. Gen. A. Baird to the Adjutant General's Office, Nov. 1, 1869; File 793B1869; Letters Received, 1805-1889, Main Series; Correspondence, 1800-1917; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

5. When citing congressional records held by the Center for Legislative Archives, include all elements of file numbers, as in the following fictitious example:

Fifty women from Vermont praying an end to slavery in the District of Columbia, Jan. 15, 1838 (endorsed Feb. 7, 1838); Committee on the District of Columbia; Petitions and Memorials Referred to Committees (HR25A-G4.1); 25th Congress; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

6. When citing personal papers donated to a Presidential library, provide the record title, folder title, or box number; series title; subgroup title; collection title; and name and location of repository.

Lee White to the President, April 15, 1964; Hu 2, Executive File; White House Central Files; Lyndon B. Johnson Papers; Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin, TX.

7. National Archives repositories in Washington, DC, and College Park, MD, should be cited as the "National Archives Building, Washington, DC," and "National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD." For NARA Regional Records Services facilities, cite the repository as the "National Archives and Records Administration," followed by a dash, then the name of the region in which the repository is located, followed by the city (as illustrated above in rules 1 and 3). Citations for Presidential libraries should include the full name of the library, followed by the city and state (as demonstrated in rule 6).

Guidelines for Citing Microform Records

When microform versions of Federal textual records are cited, the rules for citing textual records of Federal agencies should be followed, and the microform should be properly identified. Thus, if a cited record is part of a record series that has been microfilmed or microfiched by NARA, information about the publication should be supplied in parentheses after the series title. The information should include the publication number, roll or fiche number, and frame number(s) on microfilm rolls (if available). After the initial citation of any microform publication, subsequent citations to the same publication may be abbreviated by citing the publication, roll, and frame or fiche numbers.

Council of War, Proceedings re Penobscot Expedition, July 6-August 14, 1779; Vol. 2, p. 132 of item 65, Massachusetts (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247, roll 79); State Papers, 1775-91; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, Record Group 360; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.

The National Archives accessions microform from other agencies. Citations to accessioned microfilm or microfiche should identify the agency that produced it if the agency name is different from the record group title. Some accessioned microform may have frame numbers while others, as shown below, may not.

"Project Proposal, Bronx Borough, New York City"; Official Project Number 65-97-12; WPA Project Folders, New York City; (microfilm roll 8383)*; Records of the Work Projects Administration, Record Group 69; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

* Note that the name of the creating agency is not given here because it appears in the record group title.

Guidelines for Citing Nontextual Records

Nontextual records consist of maps, plans, motion pictures, photographs, posters, sound and video recordings, and oral history tapes and transcripts. Because of this variety, the file unit (consisting of the physical form of the record and its file number) is critical for nontextual records. Without it the records cannot be located. In many instances, series and subgroup titles are not identified, which leaves the file unit as the only means of locating a record within a record group. The record group number is the base of some file numbers; agency filing systems that have been retained by NARA are the base of other file numbers. Although the physical form of motion pictures, photographs, posters, sound and video recordings, or oral history tapes and transcripts is identified as part of the file unit, the physical form of cartographic records and architectural drawings should be given in brackets (as in rules 7 and 8 below) because it is an insertion rather than an element in the natural flow of the citation.

1. The file unit (physical form and file number) should be the initial citation element. It is followed by the title (caption); the series and subgroup titles, if applicable; record group title and number; and the repository and its location.

Photograph No. P-456-108-2522; "Stilling Basin: Close-up View of Upstream Area of Stilling Basin Showing Ice Formations," Jan. 1955; Palisades Project; Records of the Bureau of Reclamation, Record Group 115; National Archives and Records Administration--Rocky Mountain Region (Denver).

2. If desired, the name of the photographer (or artist for a poster) can be placed in parentheses as part of the file unit.

Color Poster No. 44-PA-71 (Artist James Montgomery Flag); "I Want You for the U.S. Army/Enlist Now"; Records of the Office of Government Reports, Record Group 44; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

3. Sometimes for clarification, file system abbreviations should be parenthetically explained.

Prelude to War; Motion Picture 111 OF 1 (Orientation Film No. 1); Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

4. Omit a parenthetical explanation of the abbreviated record group designation that occurs in a file unit.

Sound Recording 208.029; "You Can't do Business with Hitler," Feb. 12, 1944; Records of the Office of War Information, Record Group 208; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Video Recording No. 306.420; "Press Conference USA," July 21, 1964; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

5. Citations to audiotapes of oral history interviews should include the names of the respondent and the interviewer and the date(s) of the interview, as well as series and subgroup title, if available.

Sound Recording 64.190; Interview of Herbert Angel by Philip C. Brooks, Jan. 24, Feb. 13, Apr. 5, 1973; National Archives Oral History Project; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

6. Citation to transcripts of oral history interviews should follow the previous rule, except that instead of giving a sound recording number, give the page number of the transcript.

Transcript (p. 5); Interview of Herbert Angel by Philip C. Books, Feb. 13, 1973; National Archives Oral History Project; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

7. Sometimes the record title and number are identical to the file title and number.
Note in the following example the "Manuscript Map of Sumass Lake area" is the file as well as the map title, and "Map 51" is the file as well as the map number. The map is the 51st map in the 69th series, Miscellaneous Field Maps.

Manuscript Map of Sumass Lake area, Map 51 [Cartographic Record]; Series 69, Miscellaneous Field Maps; Northwestern Boundary, Treaty of 1846; Records of Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitrations, Record Group 76; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

8. File numbers based on an agency filing system retained by the National Archives when the records were accessioned may, after careful research, yield additional information that enhances the final product and that might warrant explanation in text. For instance, in the following example, "District 2" refers to the second lighthouse district (as organized by the Bureau of Lighthouses before its transfer in 1939 from the Commerce Department to the U.S. Coast Guard), and "Drawing No. 20-36" means the titled record is the 36th item in drawing 20.

Lighthouse Drawings; "Front elevation of Light House as Proposed to be Built on Minots Ledge, Boston Harbor" [Architectural Drawing]; District 2, Drawing 20-36; Records of the U.S. Coast Guard, Record Group 26; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Guidelines for Citing Electronic Records

Electronic records come in many forms and types. Among them are data files, text files, and digital images. Citations to any form of electronic records must identify that they are electronic records. This information is given in brackets as an insertion following the records identification or title. Thus a citation for an electronic textual record will usually be identical to citations for textual records, with the additional insert of [Electronic Records] following the identification of the record item.

Electronic data files are related numeric, textual, index, or graphic information that is organized in a strictly prescribed form and format. Citations to data files that are Federal electronic records begin with the data file title, followed by the physical form of the records, placed in brackets. They also include any appropriate subseries and series titles; the data base title, if any; the record group title and number; and the repository and its location. Below is an example of a citation to a data file:

West Germany, Salt II and Security, 1979 (I79006) [Electronic Records]; Surveys of the General Population, 1956- ; Surveys of Foreign Perceptions of International Strength and Security, 1956- ; Attitude Surveys, 1956- ; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

When citing documentation to electronic records, researchers should follow the rules for citing electronic records using the lead phrase "Documentation relating to..."

Guidelines for Citing Records in Affiliated Archives

Affiliated archives are non-National Archives institutions that hold--by formal, written agreement with NARA--records that are part of the accessioned holdings of the National Archives of the United States. The current affiliated archives are located at the U.S. Military Academy Archives, West Point, NY; William W. Jeffries Memorial Archives, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, OK; State Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, NM; Yellowstone National Park Archives, WY; and the Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Citations to records on deposit at affiliated archives should note the repository's National Archives/Affiliated Archives status, the fact that NARA records are deposited there, and the affiliated archives name and location. The following are examples of citations for affiliated archives' holdings:

Proceedings of the Academic Board, September 8, 1854; pp. 453-457, Volume for 1851-54; Proceedings (Staff Records); Records of the Office of the Dean of the Academic Board; Records of the U.S. Military Academy, Record Group 404; National Archives--Affiliated Archives: record on deposit at U.S. Military Academy Archives, West Point, NY.

Preston Beck Grant; SG 1; Surveyor General Case Files; (New Mexico State Records Center and Archives Microfilm Publication: "Land Records of New Mexico," roll 12, frames 006-485); Surveyor General Records, 1854-92; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49; National Archives--Affiliated Archives: record on deposit at the State Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, NM.

A Note on Citing Digitized Documents Available at NARA's World Wide Web Site

As a means of achieving the goal of providing "ready access to essential evidence," the National Archives and Records Administration is making available on its World Wide Web site (http://www.archives.gov) an increasing number of digitized images of documents in its custody. This digitized resource is enabling more and more online archival research and creating a need for guidance in citing results of such research.

In general, NARA recommends that copies of documents retrieved via online research be cited using the information elements appropriate to the originals with the addition of a note in brackets indicating the date of availability and URL of the online version. See the following fictitious example:

Fifty women from Vermont praying an end to slavery in the District of Columbia, Jan. 15, 1838 (endorsed Feb. 7, 1838); Committee on the District of Columbia; Petitions and Memorials Referred to Committees (HR25A-G4.1); 25th Congress; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online version on June 17, 1997, at http://www.archives.gov/records_of_congress/
about_the_roc/citing_the_records_of_congress.html.]

If the reference example is retrieved from the online catalog, cite only the URL for the catalog. For example:

Earp Brothers Mineral Entry, Tombstone, Arizona; General Land Office; Mineral Contest Division; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online version on July 29, 1997, available through the online catalog at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/].

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