Url in MLA?

ladyloriana

I'm using Zotero 2.0 beta 7.4. Recently I discovered that whenever I generate a bibliography in MLA format, if the source is a website, the url isn't listed in the final bib anymore, it just says Web. Is there a way to get it to list the url again?

adamsmith

This is on purpose and follows current MLA requirements
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. Because Web addresses are not static (i.e. they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the Web (e.g. on multiple databases), MLA explains that most readers can find electronic sources via title or author searches in Internet Search Engines.

You'd have to adjust the style to show the URL - not particularly hard to do, but before I give you instructions, make sure you actually need the URL.

ladyloriana

Thanks a lot for the clarification. I think my teachers will require the url anyway. How do I adjust the style?

adamsmith

First, quickly read through this instructions, so you understand the general principle of what you're about to do (they're short, don't worry)
http://www.zotero.org/support/csl_simple_edits

Then find this part:

<macro name="access">
<group delimiter=" ">
<date variable="accessed">
<date-part name="day" suffix=" "/>
<date-part name="month" form="short" include-period="true" suffix=" "/>
<date-part name="year"/>
</date>
</group>
</macro>

and add this line between </group> and </macro>

<text variable="URL" prefix=". & lt ;" suffix="& gt ;"/>

(there should be no spaces between the ampersand lt and gt and the semicolon - this won't show up correctly on the forum without the spaces. the space between period and ampersand is on purpose, though, so leave it in)

then follow the instructions in the link above to change the style ID, save your new style and get it back into Zotero. Done.

ladyloriana

Worked without a hitch. Thank you very much Adam!

adamsmith

For future reference: Since this is still an option (though clearly the non-standard one) in MLA I have added an MLA with URL style to the repository.