This latest book from Elizabeth Shown Mills, widely respected genealogical citations guru, has the sub-title The Briefcase Edition of Evidence Explained. It’s new in the collection of the Ottawa Public Library. A 2025 publication, copies just landed in the new acquisitions section at OPL’s Emerald Plaza (the one I borrowed), Beaverbrook, Rosemont and Orleans branches.
In 142 pages, a forward, two parts, two appendices and an index, it “offers a road map to help you avoid mistakes and guideposts to keep you safe as you explore new materials.”
Part 1, Fundamentals, has 13 guidelines for analysing evidence, 13 guidelines for documentation and single pages for abbreviations, stylistic and bibliographic tips.
Part 2, Constructing Citations, includes Construction Basics ( basically the 5 Ws) and 14 Universal (citation)Templates. Template 1 is “Basic Publication (Book or Simple Website); Template 14 is “Gravestone (Viewed Personally)”. Each has building blocks (author/creator, title;, descriptor … etc.) with a US example filled in, followed by the corresponding text citation with all the bells and whistles (punctuation etc.).
Produced by the Genealogical Publishing Company, in paperback or eBook, retailing for $19.50 – $27.50 US. Amazon.ca has the paperback for $52.43 Cdn, listed below.
Product details
Publisher : Genealogical Publishing Company
Publication date : July 7 2025
Language : English
Print length : 142 pages
ISBN-10 : 0806321520
ISBN-13 : 978-0806321523
Item weight : 200 g
Dimensions : 15.24 x 0.76 x 22.86 cm
Best Sellers Rank: #338,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#80 in Bibliographies & Indexes (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.6 out of 5 stars (26).
This 200 g volume will likely meet the needs of those who would previously refer to the 1.3 Kg tome, Evidence Explained. For those of us who look for a simpler solution for citations, AI can likely provide a serviceable, if not perfect, citation.
You won’t (yet?) find the book in the public libraries of Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Kingston or Halifax.