Citing your sources is especially important when it comes to archival material. You will want your reader to be able to trace back your citation with minimal effort.
Depending on the style guide required by your instructor, you may required general or more detailed information.
The following elements are the essential elements required for a bibliography:
Finding these items can be difficult with archival material as it tends to be unpublished records that do not necessarily indicate an author. You may have to infer some information or describe an item or record based on higher levels of contextual data. Depending on how these sources are used in your paper, you may have to provide more descriptive detail and context.
Remember that some items, if accessed as digitized files, should include a static and stable url address and the date in which it was accessed.
Some example citations of archival material:
Photograph
Don Grant. (September 27, 1963). Cat : Cat Wearing Coat Made by Yonge Street Tailor Shop. York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, Toronto Telegram fonds (F0433), ASC10184. Available at: http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/handle/10315/7280. Accessed July 14, 2012.
[unknown photographer]. [1977]. Mariposa Festival 1977. York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, Mariposa Folk Foundation fonds (F0511), ASC05985. Available at: http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/bitstream/handle/10315/3860. Accessed December 20, 2008. Image of the North American Indian Traveling College, seven members dressed in traditional clothing playing drums and singing.
Letter
York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, Lennox family fonds (F0549), Accession 2009-003 / 001 (04). Available at: http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/lettershome/lennox/item/2104. Accessed August 22, 2011. Returned letter from Fannie Lennox to her son John Watt Lennox. May 3, 1943.
File of material
York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, University Secretariat fonds (F0124), Accession 2011-012 / 002 (04). ADG10-Senate Agenda, Documentation & Minutes. January 24 2002.
Transcript of interview
York University Libraries Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections. Stevie Cameron fonds (F0190). Accession 1999-057 / 002 (011). Michael Lee Mitton : Internal investigation transcript. Transcript of interview of Michael Lee Mitton; Stevie Cameron, interviewer 1993.
Document with a title:
York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, Jean Augustine fonds (F0515). Accession 2007-022 /001 (01). "Advice to West Indian women recruited for work in Canada as housemaid helps" (pamphlet). (Government Printing Office: St. George's, Grenada) n.d..
Audio recording
Klein, Estelle (Speaker). (ca. 198-?). [MP3]. Retrieved December 13, 2012, from Mariposa: celebrating Canadian folk music: http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/mariposa/mariposaorigins/item/2076 .
Film clip
York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, Barry Callaghan fonds (F0525). (Original source). (February 1972). CBC Weekend - Angela Davis Prison Interview. [Digitized from 16mm colour film footage]. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
Additional links to resources for citing archival material are listed below.