All places of publication missing from footnotes and bibliography in all styles

JohnDuffy
Hi, I've just noticed a bug, that all places of publication are missing from all my footnotes and bibliography in SBL and Chicago in Word, as well as by copying and pasting using Copy Citation from the Edit menu.

I've restarted Zotero a few times, closed and opened the Word doc, changed document preferences, deleted the styles, downloaded and then added them again, but no change.

Any thoughts?
  • dunning
    This isn’t a bug; the authorities who set these styles have decided to remove the place of publication.

    Chicago still technically allows the place of publication to appear as an option, even if they don’t recommend it; look up one of the classic variants on the style repository:

    https://www.zotero.org/styles?q=Chicago classic
  • JohnDuffy
    Ah, thanks for clarifying that. I wasn't aware. Sorry for the bother.
  • PaulP53
    Thanks for clarifying that. I wasn't aware. Sorry for the bother.
  • JohnDuffy
    I just submitted a dissertation, only to find out after the submission date that the SBL 2nd ed. update does not actually remove all places of publication for books. It removes only those since 1900, following the optional removal in the CMS 18th ed.
    https://sblhs2.com/2025/12/05/publisher-locations/

    I now realise that the many publications I cited pre-1900 were not in compliance with SBL2. Can the style sheet be modified to reflect this 'partial' removal of place of publication?
  • CharlesFlk
    There is no official solution to this problem because the Citation Style Language (CSL), which Zotero uses for formatting citations and bibliographies, does not support checking field contents. That said, currently a crude hack provides a workaround for Zotero and the CSL processor it uses.

    The hack may stop working with any update to Zotero or the CSL processor used by Zotero. It is not a permanent solution to the problem. Therefore, it is a good idea to consider first whether manual edits of the citations and bibliography are not the best way to go.

    If you need automation, check out the modified style at:
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=11-3CY0WBmADKoaeFBfPzBW1VnpHMIK5A&usp=drive_fs

    Make sure to BACKUP any Word document with which you want to use it. Also BACKUP your entire Zotero folder beforehand, to be on the safe side.

    Once you have convinced yourself, as a general precaution, that there is nothing wrong with the .csl file and BACKED UP your data, double-click the .csl file to import the modified style into Zotero. In my Zotero installation, the import works without problems.

    Next, find a book published before 1900 in your Zotero database and add the following text on a separate line to the "Extra" field:
    type: pre1900book
    Similarly, find a book section published before 1900 and add the following text on a separate line to the "Extra" field:
    type: pre1900chapter

    Use a blank Word document to try out the style. If everything works as expected, modify the pre-1900 books and book chapters as described above and use the modified style in a copy of your text.

    Further changes to the style are needed if you want to include the place of publication for further item types or with the original publisher of a reprint.

    Best of success with your publication or thesis!
  • JohnDuffy
    Thank you CharlesFlk. I'll consider both options, manual editing and the workaround you have described. Good to know that that is there.

    Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.