Q. I have a question about the place of publication (country) to be included for a book in a reference list. The Chicago Manual of Style says to use the place that appears on the title page or copyright page of the book cited. My question is, if you need to specify the country but the name of the country has changed, do you use the name as it appears in the book, or do you use the current name? For example, if “Soviet Union” is shown on the title page, do you change it to “Russia” for the reference list entry?
A. Cite what is printed on the title page. Readers who are searching for a book need the details as they are printed and recorded in library records. Changing these details would be contrary to the purpose of a bibliography, which is to record sources and help readers locate them. (And aren’t you glad you don’t have to research political developments in every country in your reference list?)