CALVIN T. RYAN LIBRARY
Assistance with all writing projects, including help with citing sources, is available at the Writing Center, which is part of the Learning Commons located on the Library's 2nd floor.
Appointments are recommended and may be scheduled in-person or by telephone at 308-865-8905.
Click here for more information about the Writing Center's services.
While MS Word, some article databases, and free online tools such as BibMe offer Chicago formatting for citations, these systems are NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE!
If you use these online tools to generate citations, please double check their accuracy against the Chicago Manual of Style or other sources linked from this guide.
The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)
Technologies may change, but the need for clear and accurate communication never goes out of style. That is why for more than one hundred years The Chicago Manual of Style has remained the definitive guide for anyone who works with words. In the seven years since the previous edition debuted, we have seen an extraordinary evolution in the way we create and share knowledge. This seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been prepared with an eye toward how we find, create, and cite information that readers are as likely to access from their pockets as from a bookshelf. It offers updated guidelines on electronic workflows and publication formats, tools for PDF annotation and citation management, web accessibility standards, and effective use of metadata, abstracts, and keywords. It recognizes the needs of those who are self-publishing or following open access or Creative Commons publishing models. The citation chapters reflect the ever-expanding universe of electronic sources--including social media posts and comments, private messages, and app content--and also offer updated guidelines on such issues as DOIs, time stamps, and e-book locators. Other improvements are independent of technological change. The chapter on grammar and usage includes an expanded glossary of problematic words and phrases and a new section on syntax as well as updated guidance on gender-neutral pronouns and bias-free language. Key sections on punctuation and basic citation style have been reorganized and clarified. To facilitate navigation, headings and paragraph titles have been revised and clarified throughout. And the bibliography has been updated and expanded to include the latest and best resources available. This edition continues to reflect expert insights gathered from Chicago's own staff and from an advisory board of publishing experts from across the profession. It also includes suggestions inspired by emails, calls, and even tweets from readers. No matter how much the means of communication change, The Chicago Manual of Style remains the ultimate resource for those who care about getting the details right.
Copies of the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (2017) are located at the Reference Desk and Circulation-Reserve Desk (Library main level) for in-library use only.
A circulating copy of the 2010 edition is located in the Book Collection (Library 2nd floor).
Additional information on Chicago style may be found at these websites: