Will Bookends support the latest MLA style?

[Alvin]

The 8th edition of MLA handbook was released this year, and there were radical changes in terms of styles and formats. In that case, will Bookends support the latest version?

With best regards

[Jon]

We included MLA 8 in the Bookends 12.7.3 update.

Jon
Sonny Software

[ZC1ifi]

I just noticed something odd in the 8th style when referring to an article in a book which is part of a series. Bookends does not mention the series at all, which may be in line with the new MLA style, but it does refer to the volume number in the series and that looks decidedly odd:

John Tucker, ed. Sagas of the Icelanders: A Book of Essays. Vol. 758. Garland, 1989.

This should either be:

John Tucker, ed. Sagas of the Icelanders: A Book of Essays. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities Vol. 758. Garland, 1989. [but another quick look at the new MLA style sheet suggests they sensibly no longer reference book series]

or

John Tucker, ed. Sagas of the Icelanders: A Book of Essays. Garland, 1989.

[Jon]

It looks like you've given the reference the Type Edited Book. But that's not right if you're citing a chapter in that book. In that case you would assign it as a Book Chapter.

Jon
Sonny Software

[ZC1ifi]

I don't understand, I am citing an edited book, not a chapter in an edited book.

[Jon]

You wrote "when referring to an article in a book".

We should pursue this off-forum. I need your reference to see exactly what you're doing, send it to support@sonnysoftware.com.

Jon
Sonny Software

[ZC1ifi]

Indeed I did because when I was doing that I first noticed it. It doesn't alter the fact though. I will take this up with you off-line.

[Philologist]

I just noticed something odd in the 8th style […] Bookends does not mention the series at all, which may be in line with the new MLA style, but it does refer to the volume number in the series and that looks decidedly odd

You are right, ZC1ifi. This is not just odd, this is plainly wrong, even according to the new MLA 8th edition. This topic is relevant to all users interested in the MLA standard, and should not be taken up off-line!

The Bookends 12.7.3 update included a MLA 8 format, but that format was based on publication Manual of the APA, 5th ed., as can be seen in Formats Manager > Notes. This new MLA format needs to be updated, I think.

Core Elements and Optional Elements. The MLA rules have become less prescriptive in the 8th edition than they used to be in earlier editions. Many elements are not mandatory anymore. Instead the user is now faced with a number of "optional elements", which he or she may decide to include or exclude from the paper.

I consulted the MLA Handbook from 2016 (Kindle Edition.) Your particular case is dealt with under “OPTIONAL ELEMENTS”.

“The core elements of the entry which should generally be included, if they exist—may be accompanied by optional elements, at the writer's discretion. Some of the optional elements are added to the end of the entry, while others are placed in the middle, after core elements that they relate to. Your decision whether to include optional elements depends on their importance to your use of the source. […] If the title page or a preceding page indicates that a book you are documenting is part of a series, you might include the series name, neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, and the number of the book (if any) in the series.”

The series name is usually quite important for a book lover. I added this "optional element" to Bookends MLA 8 format.

I don't know what to think of the new 8th edition. I don't like scholarship which reduces bibliographic information to an absolute minimum; but I also understand that the MLA standard is used extensively in American schools, and not every kid is going to become a literary scholar later in life. So reducing complexity and declaring many elements to be optional, may be a good thing after all … for schools and the kids.

[Jon]

The Bookends 12.7.3 update included a MLA 8 format, but that format was based on publication Manual of the APA, 5th ed., as can be seen in Formats Manager > Notes. This new MLA format needs to be updated, I think.

Have you looked at the MLA 8th edition included with Bookends 12.7.8 (or 12.7.7)? Not one that you've modified (you need to remove the modified one from the Custom Formats folder, then Bookends will show the original in the Formats Manager).

Jon
Sonny software

[Philologist]

you need to remove the modified one from the Custom Formats folder, then Bookends will show the original in the Formats Manager)

Good that you mention this. I notice that I have two MLA 8th Edition format files with the same name: MLA 8th Edition.fmt

One is in the folder "Customs Formats" and was created and modified on January 24 2017, and the other is in the "Formats" folder in ~Library > Application Support > Bookends and was created and modified on October 2, 2016.

Maybe something has got screwed up by me. Should I still delete the younger one in the folder "Customs Formats"?

[Jon]

The one in the Formats folder is from us. The one in the Custom Formats folder is one you created or edited. You can of course just move the custom format to the Desktop if you want to keep it while checking out the format we distribute. Then move it back if you want to continue using it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Philologist]

The one in the Formats folder is from us.

Yes, that's what I also thought. Thanks for confirming.
I'm going to do what you suggested and see if there is a noticeable difference between the two.

Thanks again.

[Philologist]

OK, I quit Bookends, moved the custom format to the Desktop, and relaunched Bookends. Now I'm using the MLA 8th Edition.fmt file in the folder "Formats".
~Library/Application Support/Bookends/Formats

It formats the book that was mentioned by ZC1ifi above as:

Sagas of the Icelanders: A Book of Essays. Edited by John Tucker, Garland, 1989.

I think the correct format should be:

Tucker, John, editor. Sagas of the Icelanders: A Book of Essays. Garland, 1989. Garland reference library of the humanities 758.


The series (Garland reference library of the humanities) is optional in MLA 8, but the reference should start with the editor's name, not the title.

This can be easily fixed by the user, of course, but I thought I should mention it.

How to handle the editor is explained under "The Core Elements" in the MLA Handbook 8th edition.

“We use the term author loosely here: it refers to the person or group primarily responsible for producing the work or the aspect of the work that you focused on. […] For example, if the source is an edited volume of essays that you need to document as a whole, the "author" for your purposes is the person who assembled the volume—its editor.”

[Jon]

I can make that change in the next update.

Jon
Sonny Software