MLA Citations (9th ed.): Publication Date

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The Publication Date element tells your reader when the version of the work you are citing was published and may include one or more of the following components:

• a year
• a day and month
• a season
• a time stamp
• a range of dates or years

For e-books and other nonperiodical works, only include the year of publication even if your source includes a more specific date.

In addition to an actual date of publication, this element may include the following:

• The date of composition for unpublished material (such as letters)
• The date of revision or upload if that is more pertinent (e.g., the date a wiki post was last updated rather than the date it was started)
• The label forthcoming for works not yet published
• The date on which a source was viewed or heard firsthand (e.g., the date that you attended the performance of a play)

Works may be associated with more than one publication date. You should record the publication date provided by the version of the source you consult.

Use the day-month-year style to minimize commas in your entry. Generally provide the most specific date you can find in your source. Thus, include the day, month, and year if your source does.

If your source presents roman numerals for the year, convert them to arabic numerals. If a range is needed, style it as you would in prose.

Examples:

Dayagbil, Filomena T., et al. "Teaching and Learning Continuity Amid and Beyond the Pandemic." Frontiers in Education, vol. 6, 23 July 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.678692.

Naturelover. Comment on "He Tracks Elusive Amazon Tribes, but Only From the Shadows." The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023,  nyti.ms/45hd2xW#permid=127273091.

Lowercase seasons of the year when they are part of a publication date in the works-cited list, just as you would in prose.

Example:

Parks, Lisa, and France Winddance Twine. "Millennial Messiahs, Female Fixers, and Corporate Boards: Workplace Power Dynamics in TV Tech Dramas." Film Quarterly, vol. 76, no. 3, spring 2023, pp. 25-35.

When a time is given and helps define and locate the work, include it.

Times should be expressed in whatever form you find them in the source. Include time zone information when provided and pertinent.

Example:

Max the Pen. Comment on "Why They're Wrong." The Economist, 29 Sept. 2016, 6:06 p.m., www.economist.com/node/21707926/comments.

When documenting a nonperiodical work that is ongoing–namely, a multi-volume set of books–leave a space after the en dash (or hyphen, if used instead) that follows the beginning date.

Do not use this technique for websites, journals, television or streaming series, and other works published on an episodic or periodic basis.

Example:

Caro, Robert A. The Years of Lyndon Johnson. Vintage Books, 1982– .

For works with a clear beginning and end date, such as a museum exhibition, a completed date range may be provided. 

If you are citing a live performance, however, cite the specific date you attended, because performances can vary during the run of a play or a concert tour, for example.

Example:

Holzer, Jenny. The People. 17 Sept. 2023–21 Sept. 2023, American History Museum, Washington, D.C.

If your source or the archive, museum, or other institution holding it gives an approximate date (e.g., circa 1400-10 or early 15th century), record the date as given, but spell out phrases normally spelled out in prose, like fifteenth century, even if numerals are given in the source.

Example:

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Early fifteenth century, U of Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, Corpus Christi College MS 198.

If your source or the institution holding it indicates that the date is uncertain (e.g., probably 1870, possibly 1870, 1870?), list the date followed by a question mark.

Example:

Dickinson, Emily. "Distance - is not the Realm of Fox." 1870?, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City. Manuscript.