A new version of MLA style to add to the repository

sficke
Hi,
I'm a project coordinator for the Dusenbery project on the digital publishing site Documenting the American South (http://docsouth.unc.edu/). We used Zotero to manage and generate the bibliography on our site (http://docsouth.unc.edu/dusenbery/bibliography/). One of my project team members edited an existing MLA style sheet to make it compliant with the 7th edition handbook and the various types of sources we used (emails, tv broadcasts, manuscripts, etc.). We'd like to add it to the Style Repository so that other people can use it if they want to. The style is here: https://gist.github.com/987198 .

Thanks!
Sarah Ficke
  • adamsmith
    Sarah - could you clarify if there is anything "custom" about this style or if this is straightforward MLA - i.e. should I replace the existing MLA style with this or put it up as an additional style?
  • bdarcus
    Thanks.

    Just a comment: I'm not sure the "modified by " qualifiers on the contributors makes much sense. The contributor is by definition someone who has modified the style, and the only real practical purpose for it is to have someone to contact for questions, etc.
  • adamsmith
    Also, if you or the person coding could clarify why no medium is given for "speech" and "manuscript" - that doesnt' seem right to me.
  • sficke
    Adam - it is meant to be straightforward MLA, but I'll go back through the code one more time to make sure that is true before I ask you to replace your current style.

    The medium is left blank for manuscript because there isn't supposed to be a medium (like Print) designated at the end of a manuscript citation - whether it's a manuscript (MS) or typescript (TS) is defined earlier in the citation, and that is the only medium that they require. There should be a medium supplied at the end of a citation for a speech/presentation, but that medium depends on the kind of presentation that it is; it can be Address, Lecture, Keynote speech, Reading, or any other descriptor. Because it is so variable, we left it out of the code.

    bdarcus - the "modified by" text is there because it was there in the current MLA code and I assumed it needed to stay that way.
  • adamsmith
    OK, I'll double check the style, take out the "modified by" and then replace the existing MLA style - thanks, this is a huge help. I'll let you know when it's up.
  • sficke
    I took another look at the code and added a few modifications. The new version is here: https://gist.github.com/993737. Almost everything outputs in accurate MLA format except for audio recordings and journal articles/books that are accessed through a database or website. The audio recordings I can't figure out how to fix. The journal articles/books accessed through a database/website somehow have to get the text from the "Library Catalog" field (where the database or website name is automatically added) to show up after the page number, followed by Web and the access date, like this:
    Rena-Dozier, Emily. “Gothic Criticisms: Wuthering Heights and Nineteenth-Century Literary History.” ELH 77.3 (2010): 757-775. Project Muse. Web. 26 May 2011.

    Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Richard Bentley, 1839. Google Books. Web. 26 May 2011.

    If anyone has ideas about how to fix those two items, I'd be happy to try to make them work.
  • adamsmith
    yes, we've discussed this, it's not currently possible and it's on the radar.
  • isbradford
    Hi, I'm Ilouise. Sarah and I worked on this code together, but there are still changes that could improve the code. I'm working on it right now, so I don't know if you want to wait or post it as is.
  • adamsmith
    I'll upload it next time I get a chance and will keep updating this as you improve it.
    For speech - is there a reason you're not using the "Type" field (i.e. "genre" in csl) for the medium?
  • isbradford
    Adam, I believe we are using the "Type" field for speech in the bibliography section: <text variable="genre" prefix=" " suffix="."/>.
  • adamsmith
    ah yes thanks, just making sure.
    I converted the style to csl 1.0, removed the "modified by"s, changed link, title, and ID and uploaded it to the repo - it should show up very soon.
    I'd ask you to work with the 1.0 style if you make further revisions
    http://citationstyles.org/downloads/specification.html
  • isbradford
    Sure thing!
  • isbradford
    Adam, I've made some improvements on the code: https://gist.github.com/1002748

    The main change was to the personal_communication section in the bibliography section.
  • adamsmith
    thanks, will let you know when it's up.
  • adamsmith
    thanks - it's up. Note I added
    xmlns="http://purl.org/net/xbiblio/csl"
    to the style attribute - it doesn't validate without.
Sign In or Register to comment.