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APA

MLA

Citing eBooks using APA Or MLA guidelines


The following guidelines may be used when citing eBook content using the APA or MLA format.

APA Citations

The guidelines for citing eBooks outlined here are based on the APA's Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fourth Edition, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994 and the document "Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association" (2001, January 10) which is posted on the APA's web site (http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html).

In general, the information needed to cite an eBook is:

  1. Author

  2. Print version publication date (electronic version publication date if there is no print version)

  3. Title

  4. Print version publication place and publisher

  5. Date accessed (unique for each user)

  6. nternet location from which eBook was accessed (examples: World Wide Web, netLibrary, University of Virginia Library’s Electronic Text Center)

  7. URL (in the following examples, the netLibrary URLs are for the "About This eBook" page)
Citations (in-text)
General Format: (Author, publication date (print), page number(s) in parenthesis)

Example: During the Civil War, female couriers for spies "hid messages in their upswept hairdos, in the hems of their petticoats, and behind pictures in their lockets" (Zeinert, 1998, p. 29-30).

Bibliographic References

General Format
Author. (Print version publication date in parenthesis). Title in italics or underlined. Publication place (print): Publisher (print). Retrieved date accessed, from Internet location: URL

Examples of Publicly Accessible Titles

Ferber, E. (199?). One basket. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg.
     Retrieved March 6, 2001, from netLibrary: 
     http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=2009409

Robinson, M. (1796). Sappho and Phaon. London: S. Gosnell. 
     Retrieved March 6, 2001, from The University of Virginia Library’s 
     Electronic Text Center:
     http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RobSapp.htm

Wharton, E. (1996). The age of innocence. 
    Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Library.
    Retrieved March 6, 2001, from netLibrary:
    http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=2009766

Examples of Copyrighted Titles
Dronke, P. (1968). Medieval Latin and the rise of European love-lyric. 
    Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 6, 2001, from netLibrary: 
    http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=22981

Kerr, J. (1997). Shakespeare’s flowers. Boulder CO: Johnson Books. 
     Retrieved March 6, 2001,from netLibrary: 
     http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=60

Zeinert, K. (1998). Those courageous women of the Civil War. Brookfield, Conn.: 
     Millbrook Press. Retrieved March 6, 2001, from netLibrary 
     http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=28948


MLA Citations
NetLibrary eBook citation guidelines (outlined here) are based on the MLA Handbook.

In general, the information needed to cite an eBook is:
  1. Author

  2. Title

  3. Print version publication place, publisher and date (if available)

  4. Title of site

  5. Electronic version publication date (if available)

  6. Date accessed (unique for each user)

  7. URL (in the following examples, the netLibrary URLs are for the "About This eBook" page)

  8. For publicly accessible eBooks, other entities or projects may have created the electronic book, so additional information may be needed, such as:
    * Title of site or project * Editor of site or project * Name of institution or organization sponsoring the site or project
Citations (in-text)
General Format:
(Author, page number(s) in parenthesis) Example: During the Civil War, female couriers for spies "hid messages in their upswept hairdos, in the hems of their petticoats, and behind pictures in their lockets" (Zeinert 29-30).

Bibliographic References

General Format
Author. Title in italics or underlined. Publication place (print): Publisher (print), Publication date (print). Title of site in italics or underlined. Editor of site or project Publication date (electronic). Name of institution or organization sponsoring the site. Date accessed (unique for each user). <URL in angle brackets>.

Examples of Publicly Accessible Titles 
				

Ferber, Edna. One Basket. Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg, 199?. 
     netLibrary. 6 Mar. 2001.   
     <http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=2009409>.
Robinson, Mary. Sappho and Phaon. London: S. Gosnell, 1796. 
     Electronic Text Center. Ed. David Seaman. 1994.
     Alderman Lib. U of Virginia. 6 Mar. 2001. 
     <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RobSapp.html> 
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. 
     Charlottesville, VA: Alderman Library U. of Virginia. 
     1996. netLibrary. 1999. 6 Mar. 2001.
     <http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=2011231>.
Examples of Copyrighted Titles 
Dronke, Peter. Medieval Latin and the Rise of European
    Love-Lyric.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968. 
    netLibrary 1999. 6 Mar. 2001.
    <http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=22981>.
Zeinert, Karen. Those Courageous Women of the Civil War. 
    Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 1998.   netLibrary. 2000. 6 Mar. 2001.
    <http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=28948>.