SLRC News & Updates

The online MLA guide has been switched over to the 9th edition! No need to update any bookmarks or D2L links -- it's still at upresearch.lonestar.edu/mla. We also have a copy of the handbook on reserve at the front desk if you'd like to peruse.

What Stayed the Same: The Vast Majority

• Document format - heading, spacing, etc.
• Same basic principle with the universal checklist of elements for building citations. Some small changes to labeling ("optional" elements > "supplemental"; "other contributors" > "contributors").

Mostly this edition focused on refining the 8th edition handbook rather than sweeping changes. MLA added much-requested guidance and explanations about writing style in particular as well as citations. The 9th handbook is over twice as long as the 8th, with more visuals, as a result.

What Changed:

• EBSCOhost and ProQuest are to be treated as secondary containers for database citations, as opposed to the (actual) database names like Academic Search Complete.
• E-books will say "e-book ed." for version, in addition to any editions, etc.
• URLs may include the https:// rather than strictly omitting it, depending on whether you want live, clickable links or not.  In our guide, we have stuck with omitting it. However, we recommend specifying in your assignments whether you want live (i.e. clickable, blue, underlined) links or not (or links that are clickable but don't look like it). As ever, the most important thing is internal consistency.

What Was Added:

• 1 page about annotated bibliographies. Not worth mentioning -- design your assignment as you see fit with regards to these.
• New chapter on using inclusive language.

If you're anything like us, you feel like the 8th edition just came out! The MLA has nonetheless recently announced that the new 9th edition will be released in April 2021.

Per our usual, we do not change citation handbooks mid-semester, since A) that would be confusing, and B) the librarians need time to learn the style and make updates! Alas, no special advance copies for us. MLA 8 will be supported through spring and summer of 2021. We will officially adopt MLA 9 for fall 2021 with updated guides, handouts, and lessons.

The good news is that the list of changes and updates sound like they're maybe focused on adding examples, clarifying things, and putting in more resources as opposed to changing how citations are actually written -- "the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook works as both a textbook and a reference guide." Fingers crossed! There was some grumbling when the 8th came out that they ignored a lot of explanation of style and document formatting, focusing instead solely on the references, and this may be a correction of that.

The announcement also has a somewhat cryptic statement that "that the eighth edition will be available through February 2021." Presumably this means copies of the 8th edition will be printed through that time; possibly they'll start taking down materials on their MLA Style Center site -- we don't know. This shouldn't impact us, as we own copies of the 8th edition and our own support resources will not be changed or removed at that time.