Book: Turabian Note and Bibliography Entry

Let's build our first source: a book with one author.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

If you're using PERRLA, this part is a breeze. Look the book up by its ISBN, and PERRLA finds the book's details, fills in the form for you, and formats the note and the bibliography entry correctly.

Done, and right from the start. Not using PERRLA (yet)? Here's how to format the same book by hand.

Step by step

We'll cite this book: Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science by Jeff Meldrum, published in New York by Forge in 2007. Say you're citing page 45.

1. Author's name

In the note, write the name the way it appears on the title page, first name first, followed by a comma:

Jeff Meldrum,

In the bibliography, invert it and end with a period:

Meldrum, Jeff.

A few special cases:

• Two or three authors: list them all in the note (Jeff Meldrum and Jane Doe,). In the bibliography, invert only the first (Meldrum, Jeff, and Jane Doe.). (Jane Doe is made up.)
• Four or more authors: in the note, give the first author and et al. (Bryan C. Sykes et al.,). In the bibliography, list them all.
• An editor instead of an author: add ed. after the name (Jane Doe, ed.,).
• Titles and degrees, like Dr. or PhD, are left off.

2. Title

The full title, in italics and headline-style capitals, with a colon before the subtitle:

Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science

Unlike APA, Turabian capitalizes every major word of a book title, subtitle included. If the book is a later edition, add it after the title: Title, 2nd ed.

3. Place, publisher, and year

In the note, these go together in parentheses: the city, a colon, the publisher, a comma, and the year:

(New York: Forge, 2007),

In the bibliography, drop the parentheses and end with a period:

New York: Forge, 2007.

• The city is the first one listed on the title page or copyright page. If the city isn't well known, or could be confused with another, add the state's two-letter abbreviation: Grand Rapids, MI.
• The publisher's name can drop words like Inc., Co., and an opening The. Keep words that are part of the name, like Press or Books.

4. Page

In the note only, end with the page you used, then a period:

45.

A book's bibliography entry has no page number.

The finished note and entry

Here are the full note and the shortened note every time after, as they sit at the foot of the page, and the entry, as it sits in the bibliography:

1. AuthorFirst name first in the note, inverted in the bibliography.
2. TitleItalic, headline-style capitals, colon before the subtitle.
3. Place, publisher, yearIn parentheses in the note; plain, with periods around them, in the bibliography.
4. PageIn the note only.
5. Shortened noteLast name, the short title (here, the main title alone), and the page.

It's that simple once you know each part. And if you're using PERRLA, all of it is built for you.

Quick checklist

• Author first name first in the note, inverted in the bibliography
• Title italic, headline-style capitals, subtitle after a colon
• Place: Publisher, Year in parentheses in the note
• Page number at the end of the note, none in the bibliography
• Later notes shortened: last name, short title, page

Related Turabian 101 lessons

• How notes and the bibliography work together: the same source, written as a note and as an entry.
• Journal article: note and bibliography entry: quoted title, journal, volume, issue, pages, and the DOI.
• Website: note and bibliography entry: page title, site, owner, the date, and access dates.
• Footnotes: full notes, shortened notes, and where the number goes.
• All 18 lessons in Turabian 101