Are you all as interested in style manuals as we librarians are? Probably not, but that’s why we’re librarians, right? Regardless of your level of excitedness, if you are a researcher, student, or instructor, it’s worth noting that there is a new edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which we most commonly refer to as the APA style guide. The manual is now in its 6th edition and includes some noteworthy revisions and updates. So, before you go writing your first paper of the semester or begin grading your students’ reference pages, take note of some of the changes:

• Check out section 6.31 Electronic Sources and Locator Information. This section explains changes in publishing models since the 5th edition was published and mentions the DOI system. To prevent this post from running on too long, just know that DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. It’s a number used to identify items like electronic journal articles in a standardized and systematic way. For examples of citing items with a DOI, refer to section 7.01 in the new manual.
• E-books are also mentioned in the reference example section, 7.02. You’ll see ways to cite the e-version of a print book, an electronic-only book, and the e-version of a republished book.
• Into social media or web-based resources? The 6th edition also mentions how to cite blogs, message boards, listservs, and other online communities. These examples include using a screen name as author, the proper format for YouTube videos, and how to cite comments to discussion groups. These examples are given in section 7.11.

For other revisions on writing an effective paper, working with publishers, and reference formats, please consult the new edition which is available for use at Laupus Library. You can also visit the APA Style site online at www.apastyle.org. Looking for information on other styles? Laupus has a style guide page as well.