MLA format for citing a non-PDF print source accessed
from an
electronic database
(e.g., Academic Search Premier or other EBSCO databases, Newsbank Newsfile,
LexisNexis, SIRS, etc.)
The directions here are based upon item #33 on p. 376 of LBCH, 5th edition.
Set up the citation in the normal way, as if the source were found in print or PDF format. Then, after the period that follows the page number(s), add the name of the database [in italics or underlined], the name of the subscription service (not underlined or italicized), the name of the hosting library, and the access date (the date you found the article). [You can omit the URL for the subscription service's home page.]
The table below shows you the database and subscription service info for the databases you might use in this course:
| If your article is from: | Database | Subscription Service |
| An EBSCO database (Academic Search Premiere or any database listed in Choose Databases) | list the specific database for
the article: e.g. Academic Search Premiere, Business Source Premiere, etc. |
EBSCOHost |
| LexisNexis | LexisNexis Academic | LexisNexis |
| Newsbank | Newsbank Newsfile | Newsbank Inc. |
| Infotrac Health | Infotrac Health Reference Academic | Gale Group, Inc |
| SIRS** | SIRS Researcher | SIRS Knowledge Source |
|
** since SIRS is now accessible only through OPLIN, you have to use the name of your local library when you list the hosting library in your sources list citation. Examples: The Public Lib. of Youngstown and Mahoning Cty., Columbiana Public Lib., Warren-Trumbull Cty. Public Lib. For all other databases, use Youngstown St. Univ. Maag Lib. |
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Here is an example of how to create an MLA format citation for a non-PDF article from an online, library-sponsored database:
Let's say you use the EBSCOHost database Academic Search Premier on Sep.15, 2003 and you find the following article, which you access in non-PDF format:
Author Lane, Philip J Title The existential condition of television crime drama Appears In Journal of Popular Culture. v34n4 Spring 2001. p.137-151 With this information, you now have everything you need for the Works Cited list citation for this source.
You start with the basic citation for this article, as if you accessed it in print form or in PDF format:
Lane, Philip J. "The Existential Condition of Television Crime Drama." Journal of Popular Culture 34.4 (2001): 137-151. Now you simply add the name of the database [in italics or underlined], the name of the subscription service (not underlined or italicized), the name of the hosting library, and the access date. So the final citation looks like this:
Lane, Philip J. "The Existential Condition of Television Crime Drama." Journal of Popular Culture 34.4 (2001): 137-151. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOHost. Youngstown St. Univ. Maag Lib. 15 Sep. 2003. A NOTE on page numbers: If the publication information for the source does not include any page numbers, then use the abbreviation n.p. (no pages) where the page numbers would normally go. And if the publication information includes only the start page for the article, then use the start page followed by a plus sign (example: 235+).