When do I need an access date for my citation?
Answer
An access date is included for electronic or online sources that are likely to update or change or if there is no publication date on the resource. Some examples of sources likely to update or change include: websites, newspaper or magazine articles from the newspaper’s/magazine’s website (as corrections are posted here or articles are removed or moved behind a paywall), encyclopedia articles, government websites and policies and YouTube videos.
Other sources like eBooks, scholarly journal articles, and newspaper and magazine articles from the library databases are more stable sources and are unlikely to get updated or change location. If by some small chance they do get updated, they are usually clearly marked with information about when they were updated. In these cases, it is unnecessary to include a date of access even if the citation style calls for it.
In general most professors don’t see a need for an access date for eBooks, scholarly journal articles, etc., but just check with them as to their preference.
When in doubt you can include the access date in the format dictated by the citation style.
If you need further help, contact a librarian.