The University Archives preferred citation

[Description and date of item], Box/folder number, Collection number, Collection name and dates, University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Example

Burned military papers, undated, Box 5 Folder 6, 3-5-33, Campus Unrest at the State University of New York at Buffalo records, 1965-1990, University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Chicago-style for Archival Material

Notes

Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Reference code, Collection name, Repository name, Location of repository. URL if applicable.

E.g., Burned military papers, undated, 3-5-33, Box 5, Folder 6, Campus Unrest at the State University of New York at Buffalo records, University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Bibliography

Last Name, First Name of author. Collection name. Repository name, Location of Repository.

E.g., Campus Unrest at the State University of New York at Buffalo records. University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

• Purdue University’s Guide for Citing Archival Sources
• Dalhousie University’s Guide to Archival Research
• CSUDH’s Guide to Citations for Archival Materials

Keep in mind...

• Archivists and librarians are here to help—so when in doubt, reach out to lib-archives@buffalo.edu!
• Historical research is time consuming. Plan ahead and start early.
• Take notes. Record your sources and link each source in your notes. Archivists cannot backtrack your research.
  • When using a collection, indicate the collection name, number, and box/folder or page number in your notes.
  • If you take a photo of something, indicate the source in your notes.
• Keep context in mind. (Who made it? For what purpose did they make it? What is the time and place in which it was made? Is there bias present? etc.)
• The historical record is imperfect and incomplete. There are gaps in the records. 
• Whose voices are not included in the material? (Are there archival silences caused by a historic lack of institutional collecting of records created by and for underrepresented groups or people? etc.)

When analyzing and interpreting a primary source, ask:

• What is the context?
  • What is the primary source talking about?
  • What is the purpose of the author in creating and keeping the primary source?
  • When was it created? Where was it created? How does the time and place of its creation affect the meaning of the primary source?
  • Who was the primary source created for?
• Is there bias present?
  • Whose bias?
  • What could cause this bias?
• What is the relation to other texts?
  • How does the primary source relate to other primary and secondary sources?
  • What are the limitations of this primary source?
• Whose voices are not included in the material?
  • Could there be an archival silence due to a historic lack of institutional collecting of records created by and for underrepresented people and groups?

See How to Read a Primary Source by Bowdoin College, Interpreting Primary Sources by the University of Maryland Libraries, and Introduction to Archival Research (archival silences) by the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries.

Baird Point with Lake La Salle at sunrise in April 2020.
Photographer: Douglas Levere, UB Photo Database