Citing OSM in MLA

Help and support
1

Hello all,

I was wondering how I would cite OSM as a reference in MLA format. I have it down as the following:

Outline of Manchester NH. *OpenStreetMap*, osm.org/go/ZfMLfAR-?relation=305467. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024. Map.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

2

This is already enough for your reader to verify your work, so what follows is just nitpicking.

I haven’t seen many citations of OSM in MLA format specifically, but here’s what you can add to the citation for completeness, based on what I’ve seen in journal articles that use other formats:

  • A list of user names from the revision history (can be abridged with “et al.”)
  • The value of the name=* tag (“Manchester”)
  • The version number (since some elements are edited multiple times in a day)
  • OpenStreetMap
  • Cambridge: OpenStreetMap Foundation (runs the servers, so technically the “publisher” I guess)
  • The date of the latest edit
  • The URL (your shortlink is fine)
  • The access date
3 Likes
3

Ah okay, thanks for your help!