How to best cite vital records on NYC agency website

By Hendrickson on Sat, 11/09/2024 - 13:05

Forums

A colleague has me rethinking my citations for NYC vital records found online. Our differences lie in layer 2 and how we each interpret the website.  Perhaps you can provide some insight on how to best cite it? Here are our examples…

Brooklyn Borough, New York, death certificate, no. 2788, for Phoebe Williams Hendrickson, 31 January 1918; New York City Municipal Archives, “Historical Vital Records” database with images, NYC Department of Records & Information Services (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/5179597 : viewed 9 November 2024).

or

Brooklyn Borough, New York, death certificate, no. 2788, for Phoebe Williams Hendrickson (1918); New York City Municipal Archives, Historical Vital Records, database with images (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/5179597: accessed 9 November 2024).

Submitted byEEon Sun, 11/10/2024 - 09:47

Hendrickson, the design of websites is often confusing. Printed books by professional publishers, follow standard formats, enabling us to reliably distinguish between the creator functions (author, editor, translator, etc.), the title, and the subtitle (if one exists).  Website design is far less standardized.

From my own analysis of website structures over the past two to three decades, it seems to me that the site you’re using does follow the most common pattern:

  • Creator ID: top left corner
  • Website title: top center
  • Website subtitle: second line at top center below the title

When I go from your URL back to the home page, the pattern still follows. When I check out each of the sub-pages or modules that appear under the title (Browse All, Search, Digital Vital Records, About, and FAQ) that pattern also holds.

Considering this pattern, an Evidence Style citation for the site would be this:

Brooklyn Borough, New York, death certificate no. 2788, Phoebe Williams Hendrickson, 31 January 1918; NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records: The New York City Municipal Archives, database with images (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/5179597 : viewed 9 November 2024), citing file no. D-K-1918-0002788.

Submitted byHendricksonon Sun, 11/10/2024 - 22:18

Thanks for clarifying. We were debating whether Historical Vital Records was a separate website or a database within the NYC DORIS site, and also discussing who the creator was. This really helped clear things up.