This video tutorial will demonstrate how to cite eBooks using the MLA ... This
tutorial will show how to cite an eBook from a library database, and how to cite a.
Video Tutorials MLA (7th edition): Citing eBooks http://www.sfcollege.edu/library/?section=tutorials/mla_ebooks
This video tutorial will demonstrate how to cite eBooks using the MLA documentation style. This tutorial will show how to cite an eBook from a library database, and how to cite a downloaded eBook such as a Kindle eBook. Every MLA citation in a works cited list needs four parts: author, title, publication information, and medium. An eBook from a database also needs the name of the database and the date of access. The following examples will show you how to identify these elements in an eBook, and how to place and format them into a proper MLA citation. Example 1: An eBook from a database For the first example, you will learn how to cite an eBook from a database. The eBook Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture is from the database eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) To open this eBook click eBook Full Text on the left hand side of the detailed record. Navigate to the title page by either clicking on the title page hyperlink in the table of contents, or by using the arrows to click through to the title page. The first piece of information you need is the author of the book. The author of this book is Kelly Boyer Sagert. To list an author, type the name in reverse order. Type the last name, a comma, and the first name, followed by a period. If the author’s middle name or initial is given, include it after the first name. Example: Sagert, Kelly Boyer.
Next, identify the title of the book. The title page shows the title is Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. Even though there is no colon on the title page, A Guide to an American Subculture is in a smaller and italicized; this shows that it is the subtitle and should be separated from the title with a colon. The title of the book, in italics, comes after the author. Capitalize the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle (which comes after the colon), and all other important words. Example: Sagert, Kelly Boyer. Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. Next, identify the publication information. This includes the city where the book was published, the name of the publisher, and the year it was published. If this information is not available on the title page, look for it on the next page. This book was published in Santa Barbara by Greenwood Press in 2010. Note: if more than one city is given, choose the first one listed. These elements are listed in the following format: city [colon] publisher’s name [comma] and year [period]. Example: Sagert, Kelly Boyer. Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. Santa Barbara: Greenwood P, 2010. When citing an eBook from a database, include the name of the database. In this case it is eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). The name of this database is listed at the top of the screen when viewing the detailed record. In your citation, italicize the database name and follow the name with a period. Next the medium must be stated. Since this is an electronic book accessed through an online database, the medium is Web. Follow the medium with a period. Example: Sagert, Kelly Boyer. Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. Santa Barbara: Greenwood P, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web.
To complete the citation, include the date when the eBook was accessed. Type the access date as day month year. After the access date, end the citation with a period. This concludes the citation. Example: Sagert, Kelly Boyer. Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture. Santa Barbara: Greenwood P, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
Example 2: A downloaded eBook To cite a downloaded eBook, begin your citation as if you were citing a print book, but for the medium include the specific file type. For this example, we will cite the Kindle eBook version of The Great Gatsby. Navigate to the title page to find the author, title, and publication information. Instead of listing the medium as Print like when citing a print book, or Web like when citing an eBook from a database, include the specific file type. In this example it is a Kindle file. Other electronic file types may include Nook file, EPUB file, or PDF file. If you cannot identify the file type, use Digital file. The “f” in file is not capitalized. Example: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2003. Kindle file. If you refer to an eBook in your paper, by directly quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to main ideas, you will need to include an in-text parenthetical citation. If the eBook is divided into stable numbered sections like chapters, or uses stable page numbers like in a PDF, then you can include these in your citation. If the eBook lacks stable numbering, then the book must be cited as a whole. Example: According to Sagert, Fitzgerald and his wife personified hedonism (ch. 4). For additional resources to help you create MLA citations, visit the Santa Fe Library’s MLA Citations research guide. This can be found by visiting the library’s website, clicking Guides > Research Guides and then MLA Citations. This concludes the video tutorial on citing eBooks using the MLA documentation style. If you still have questions, please contact a librarian. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Questions? Ask a Librarian! 352-395-5409
[email protected] sfcollege.edu/library For more tutorials see: sfcollege.edu/library/?section=tutorials