Build a proper citation for physical archive records: collection, box, folder and repository. Free, no sign-up.
What this tool does
Archive citations are different from book citations because the reader cannot just buy the source. They need a trail: who wrote it, when, what it is, which collection holds it, which box and folder, and which repository owns it. Leave out the box number and a future researcher may spend a day hunting. This guide turns your shelf notes into a complete citation in the standard repository-first order, so your archival evidence can actually be found again.
Why it matters
Good citations do quiet work. They let a reader find every source you used, they show that your argument rests on real evidence rather than memory, and they protect you: a clean reference list is much harder to challenge than a vague one. Most marks lost on referencing are not lost on difficult sources. They are lost on small, repeated slips — a missing year, a swapped initial, a title in the wrong case — that a quick tool pass catches before submission.
How to use it
- Enter the document title or description and its date.
- Add collection, box and folder numbers.
- Add the repository name and copy the citation.
Worked example
Letter from Marie Curie to Pierre Curie, 12 May 1903, Box 4, Folder 9, Curie Papers, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Every element is there: author, date, description, box, folder, collection, repository. Remove any one and the trail breaks.
Tips for good results
Record the box and folder at the moment you photograph a document. It takes ten seconds then and hours later.
Work from the source itself, not from another paper’s copy of it. And keep one style for the whole list: a single mixed entry undermines an otherwise perfect bibliography.
Honest limits
Archive practice varies by repository: some want the record group first, others the collection. This tool uses the common author-date-description-box-folder-collection-repository order. Always follow your archive’s own citation guide when it differs.
Common mistakes to avoid
Common mistakes to avoid: copying a reference from another paper without checking it against the original, trusting a PDF filename for the title or year, and mixing two styles in one list. Each of these looks harmless alone and careless together. Run the tool, read its output once, and compare it with the source itself before you paste it into your document.
Before you submit
Run through this short check before you submit: is every author name spelled as it appears on the source, is every year present and correct, and does every in-text citation have a matching entry in your reference list? Read the list once from top to bottom rather than skimming it. Most referencing errors are found in that single slow read, and fixing them there is far cheaper than fixing them after a reviewer finds them. If one entry still looks odd after that read, check it against the original source before you change anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on this page, with no account and no payment. Nothing you paste leaves your computer.
Do I still need to check the result?
Yes, once. Tools apply rules; they cannot verify facts about your source. Compare the output with the source itself before submitting.
Can I use the output in my paper?
Yes. The output is a formatted reference or analysis for your own work. Keep the source’s facts accurate and the formatting consistent across your list.
What if the tool’s output differs from my style guide?
Trust the style guide. Tools encode the common rules of a style; your university or journal’s own sheet wins every disagreement. Use the tool to do the routine work, then apply the local rule where it differs.
Also available in Spanish: Guía de Citas de Material de Archivo – Cita Cartas, Cajas y Carpetas Gratis en Línea.