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A container is a work that contains another work.
The title of the container is normally italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that comes next describes the container.
Remember that you can have more than one container! To learn more about nested containers, see the Core Elements tab.
Examples of containers:
Some works are self-contained, such as a print version of a novel and the original theatrical release of a film.
In these cases, the title of the work is listed in the Title of Source element. The Title of Container element is left blank.
A container can be contained by another container. For example, an essay can appear in a print book and that book can be digitized on a website. In this case, both the book and the website are containers: the book contains the essay, and the website contains the book.
McClain, Dana C. "#OKBloomer: Contesting the American Canon." American Book Review, vol. 42, no. 3, 2021, pp.8-9. Project Muse, https://doi.org/10.1353/abr.2021.0030.
Meyer, Christine. "Counter-Discursive Strategies: From Metatextuality to Rewriting." Questioning the Canon: Counter-Discourse and the Minority Perspective in Contemporary German Literature, De Gruyter, 2021, pp. 56-84. De Gruyter Collection, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110674392y.
Websites may be containers, but they are not always containers. A website is a container when it serves as the platform of publication of the particular version of the work you consult; it is not a container when it simply provides access to the work passively.
See examples of when a website is or is not a container in the table below.
To determine whether an app or database is a container, apply the same criteria as for a website.
For example, if you are using an app like Bible Gateway to access different versions of the Bible, the app is a container. If, however, you are quoting an article you downloaded and saved to the Google Drive app on your phone, the app is not a container.
Similarly, some online research databases contain works in their entirety. When you read, view, or listen to an entire work on such a site, it is the container of the work. If, however, you are sent to an outside website from a database to access the full text of an article, such as on eric.gov, then ERIC would be the container of the article, not EBSCOhost.
If a container is present but untitled, describe it. See examples below.
Auden, W. H., and Klaus Mann. Prospectus. Decision magazine papers, Yale U Library, Manuscripts and Archives, MS 176, box 1, folder 20.
"Fall Publications Feature DC Heroes." Marketing newsletter, no. 6, Fantagraphics, 2016, pp. 1-2.