Locate a handbook reference for use in your paper. Check for a handbook author and note the edition of the handbook. Some noted organizations, such as the American Medical Association, publish handbooks. These may or may not have a stated author.
Make a citation for the handbook that includes identifying the handbook and key information about the publication. Write down the full names of the author or authors. Also note the full title of the handbook. Note the publisher, publication location and the year of publication.
Format the handbook for the paper footnote. The American Psychological Association discourages footnote use, but the Modern Language Association formatting accepts footnotes. In place of a note at the end of the page, APA formatting uses a note listing the last name of the first handbook author and the date inside a set of parentheses. If you have used more than one publication by the handbook author, add a shortened title for the handbook between the name and the date. Italicize the title and capitalize the first letter of the title, but don't use any additional quotation marks or underlining on the handbook title. Cite the page in the handbook where you found the citation for the paper. Authors using the MLA style sheet require adding a half-step elevated number placed in the text. Place the footnote, using the same information, at the end of the page or end of the paper.
Format the paper bibliography. The formal bibliography follows the full text of the paper. Both MLA and APA require, in this order, the name, or names, of the handbook author, listed with the author's last name first, followed by a comma and then the first name. If more than one author wrote the handbook, list the authors by first name, a comma, and then the last name. Then record the title of the handbook, with quotation marks around the title; place of publication, if any; publisher, if any; and date of publication.
Annotate the handbook, if required for the assignment. The short handbook description, no longer than a paragraph, follows the bibliographic entry. Space once or twice and then add the annotation.