Bluebooking Internet Sources

Last night, we held our Research Certificate Seminar on Bluebooking and had a great turnout.  One topic we discussed was how to cite to sources you find on the Internet. In the update to the nineteenth edition of the Bluebook, the editors greatly expanded Rule 18, which covers Internet, electronic media, and other nonprint sources.

You’ll find a handy chart giving you citation examples for Internet sources on page 164 of the Bluebook.  When citing an Internet source, ask yourself what type of document or source are you using – is it an official document, a scanned copy of a print source, a document that’s nearly impossible to find in print, an online-only text, a blog entry, or something else? Once you figure this out, you can match what you want to use to examples given in the chart. Check the rest of Rule 18 if you need further guidance or additional examples.