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Referencing style - Chicago: Books and Ebooks

A guide to using the Chicago 18th referencing style for footnotes and reference lists.

Books and book chapters

If a book is available in more than one format (i.e. print, ebook), cite the version you consulted.

If using an ebook, make sure you include the URL.  The DOI link is preferred. If no stable URL, use the database name.

For books published before 1900s, include the place of publication instead of, or as well as, the publisher's name.

 

Material type In-Text (Parenthetical text) Citation Reference List
Books/ebooks (Last Name Date, Page number)

Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of Book. Publisher. URL.

Book: single author

 (Read 2002, 65) Read, Richard. 2002. Art and its Discontents: The Early Life of Adrian Stokes. Ashgate.

Book: two authors

(D'Alleva and Cothren 2021, 15)

 

*Authors are listed in the same order as they appear in the book.

D’Alleva, Anne, and Michael Cothren. Methods and Theories of Art History. 3rd ed. Laurence King Publishing, 2021.

 

* In the reference list, only the first author's name is inverted (last name, first name)

Book: three or more authors

(Solheim et al. 2020, 32)


*In text citation includes the first author followed by 'et al.' ("and others")

Solheim, Steinar, Håkon Glørstad, and Per Persson. Culture and Context of the Scandinavian Neolithic. Oxbow Books, 2020.

*In the reference list you can include up to six authors.

*If more than six, only include the first three authors followed by "et al.".

 
Book chapter in an edited book (Vernon and Seddon 2006, 32-33) Vernon, Christopher, and George Seddon. 2006. "Hackett and Annear: Laying the Foundations." In A Landscape for Learning: A History of the Grounds of The University of Western Australia, edited by George Seddon and Gillian Lilleyman, 30-35. University of Western Australia Press.

Book: editor, translator or compiler in place of author

 

 (Goldswain and Taylor 2010, 10) Goldswain, Philip D., and William Taylor, eds. 2010. An Everyday Transience: The Urban Imaginary of Goldfields Photographer John Joseph Dwyer. UWA Publishing.

Book: authors or editors with the same family name

 (Kendris and Kendris 2010, 14) Kendris, Christopher, and Theodore Kendris, eds. 2010. 501 Spanish Verbs, 7th ed., Barron’s Educational Series.

Book: multi-volume works

(Byrne 1981, 4:243)

*The volume cited and page number are separated by a colon. In the short form the volume number does not need to be repeated.

For more examples go to the Chicago Manual of Style 18, chapter 14, sections 19 to 27

 Byrne, Muriel St. Clare, ed. 1981. The Lisle Letters. 6 vols. University of Chicago Press.

Book: No attributed author

(Stanze 1547)

See Chicago Manual of Style 18, chapter 13 section 81.

Stanze in Lode della Donna Brutta. 1547. Florence.

 

Book: editor, translator or compiler in addition to author

 (Rasch 1967, 20) Rasch, Heinz. 1967. Some Roots of Modern Architecture. Translated and edited by George Jelinek and Joan Jelinek. Tiranti.

Book: author's name appears in title

 (Franklin 1868, 233)

Franklin, Benjamin.1868. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.  Edited by John Bigelow. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.

Book: corporate or organisation as author

 (Gehl Architects 1994, 105) Gehl Architects. 1994. Perth 2009: Public Spaces and Public Life. Department of Planning and Urban Developments.

Book: Government publication

 (Western Australian Department of Planning and Urban Development 1991, 21) Western Australian Department of Planning and Urban Development. 1991. Metropolitan Centres: Policy Statement for the Perth Metropolitan Region. Perth, W.A.: Department of Planning and Urban Development.
Book chapter (Vernon and Seddon 2006, 32-33) Vernon, Christopher, and George Seddon. 2006. "Hackett and Annear: Laying the Foundations." In A Landscape for Learning: A History of the Grounds of The University of Western Australia, edited by George Seddon and Gillian Lilleyman, 30-35. University of Western Australia Press.
Book: edition other than first (Beresford and Partingon 2012, 55)

Beresford, Quentin, and Gary Partington. 2012. Reform and Resistance in Aboriginal Education: The Australian Experience. Rev. ed. University of Western Australia Press.

Book: Reprint editions

 

(Schweitzer [1911] 1966, 53)

 

*Add the original publication date in square brackets in text.

More examples see the online Chicago Manual of Style 18, chapter 14 section 16.

Schweitzer, Albert. (1911) 1966. J. S. Bach. Translated by Ernest Newman. 2 vols. Dover.

*Add the original publication date in round brackets in the reference list entry.
Ebook

(Unwin 2020)

*For eBooks consulted online, list a URL or database name if there is no stable URL available.

*Include an access date only if one is required by your discipline.

*If no fixed page numbers are available, you can include a section title or a chapter or other number.  See example below.

 Unwin, Simon. 2020. Shadow: The Architectural Power of Withholding Light. Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group. Accessed July 3, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Ebook: Chapter no page numbers

(Bonds 2014, chap. 3)

 Bonds, Mark Evan. 2014. Absolute Music: The History of an Idea. Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199343638.003.0004.

 

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