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217 REFERENCE LISTS
be more explicit and in case a particular library has not bound the parts
together.
The next most likely pattern is that each bound fascicule is given its own
number (sometimes called things like ‘Number 134’). These numbers may be
assigned to a date (e.g. October, 2001; Spring, 2002; 26 October–1 November
2002). You should always give the number, and usually give the date as well if
there is one. Put the date in parentheses.
Lastly, you may find something which has no volume number or part
number, but just a date. This is typically true of newspapers, for example. Here
you should give the date.
If you meet any other exceptional circumstances, give enough information
for your reader to be able to identify the correct bound item.
Page numbers
Page numbers are usually self-explanatory. If you are citing a newspaper you
may have to give the section as well as the page (e.g. ‘C45’) and, particularly in
older newspapers, you may have to give the column number (e.g. ‘col. 4’). If
there are no page numbers, then you can write ‘Unpaginated’.
When you are citing an extended discussion from someone’s work, the
usual thing is to give the beginning page and the final page of the discussion:
‘Smith (2000: 94–105)’, for example. You will sometimes see the notation
‘Smith (2000: 94f)’ or ‘Smith (2000: 94ff)’, where ‘f ’ stands for ‘following
(page)’ and ‘ff’ means ‘following (pages)’. The first of these is equivalent to
‘Smith (2000: 94–5)’. The second is inexplicit, since it does not say how many
following pages the discussion is spread over (just that it is more than one),
and should be avoided unless the discussion has an unclear ending point.
While you will need to recognise this notation, you should use it extremely
sparingly.
In brief
The idea with a reference is to make it easy for a reader who wants to look
at awork you cite to find that work in a good library. The information you
provide should be sufficient for anyone to do this (or to ask to interloan the
item if it is not in their library). So you should always try to give enough
information for it to be totally unambiguous where the work is to be found.
You should also do this in a consistent manner, giving similar information
for similar types of work, so that your reader knows what to expect. For
more detail on any of the topics covered here, see The Chicago Manual of
Style.