Citing Sources from the Hawaii State Archives

Citing archival sources correctly is important. The materials found in the Hawaii State Archives are often unique and cannot be found elsewhere. When people try to locate the sources you cite they will need to know exactly where you found them. The particular form of your citation will depend on your citation style. In general, citations progress from the broadest to the narrowest form of information, or vice versa.

The Hawaii State Archives recommends citations for publication of documents, maps, photographs, or web pages, in addition to a credit line of “Courtesy of the Hawaii State Archives.” Scholars, genealogists, and other researchers or publishers should note the following recommendations for creating citations.

These basic components should be part of your citations:

Repository: Where is the item held? The repository is the institution in which records are kept.

Example: Hawaii State Archives

Collection or Record Group: The collection or record group consists of the records of a large organization, such as a government department. Include the title of the collection and the subseries title if applicable.

Examples:

Foreign Office and Executive
Judiciary of Hawaii First Circuit Court, Probate Records
Queen Liliuokalani Collection

Series Number: Archival collections can consist of hundreds of boxes; often collections are divided into groups of similar records and designated by an alpha and/or numerical code.

Examples:

Series No. 414
M-93

Box and Folder/Volume Number: Numbers are to be found in finding aid and on folder label. Include document number if applicable.

Examples:

Box No. 1-1-5
Box No. 38
PP-2-5
Vol. 1

Document Name/Title: Include the creator, page, section, and date information if necessary.

Examples:

Diaries, 1882
Board of Education Reports, Kauai, 1849
Letter from Liholiho, 10/01/1861

 

Examples:

Original Records:

For government and manuscript documents a full citation should include:

Hawaii State Archives, Collection Name, Series Number, Box and Folder/Volume Numbers, and Document Name/Title.

Hawaii State Archives, Judiciary of Hawaii First Circuit Court, Probate Records, Series No. 007, Box No. 38, Probate No. 2425 of Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

Hawaii State Archives, Queen Liliuokalani Collection, M-93, Box No. 1-1-5, Deed from Liliuokalani to George W. Macfarlane, 11/24/1898.

From Microfilm:

Hawaii State Archives, Collection Name, Series Number, Microfilm No., and Document Name/Title.

Hawaii State Archives, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Corporations (Dissolved) Case Files, Series No. 158, Microfilm No. 81, File No. 51674P1, Louise L. Akamine Attorney at Law, A Law Corporation.

For Photographs:

Hawaii State Archives, Collection Name, Photograph Call Number

Hawaii State Archives, Photograph Collection, PP-70-7-021-S.

Hawaii State Archives, PA- 105, Attorney General’s “Hilo Massacre” Album.

For Internet Citations:

Authoring organization, company, agency [or title of homepage if authoring information is unavailable]. Title of the individual web page or document. Universal Resource Locator (URL) [Date accessed or copyrighted].

Hawaii State Archives, Nalawaianui (k) – Haehae 04-08-1845 : K-10(1) p9 : Marriage Record.https://digitalcollections.hawaii.gov/greenstone3/sites/localsite/collect/vitalsta/index/assoc/HASH57fe/712bbc8c.dir/doc.pdf [08/14/2009].

It is a good idea to cite everything you look at as you conduct your research. Citations can become complicated; do not hesitate to ask a reference archivist for assistance. We are here to help you!