Masonic authors, especially those who seek to have their research articles or books published, should have a copy of the Guide. Created over a period of several years, it is based on the "Chicago Style," as presented in Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed., but with additions peculiar to terminology for the fraternity itself. It seeks to standardize conventions commonly found in Masonic writing, such as capitalization, abbreviations, official officer titles, and many others. The Guide gives direction on source citation, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, numbers, abbreviations, quotations, tables, figures, and format. Users of the Quarry Project Style Guide also need a copy of Turabian's book. (Be sure not to use her lower-level book, Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers.)
The Masonic Society and the Masonic Library and Museum Association came together to sponsor the first Quarry Project, a conference and workshop on Masonic research and preservation, held at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia on September 27–29, 2013. The conference drew from both the Masonic and academic communities to provide detailed instruction on Masonic research and the editing of the results. Additionally, a set of voluntary standards for future Masonic research, writing, and editing were introduced. Professional librarians, museum curators, and experts on display and preservation provided practical instruction and advice on maintaining and improving Masonic historical repositories. Multiple concurrent presentations were offered on all three days.
In 2015, TMS, MLMA, and the Masonic Information Center of the Masonic Service Association of North America teamed up again for The Quarry Project: Phase II, in part, to continue the development of the Style Guide. A list of Masonic publications and publishers that have adopted its guidelines can be found here.
The result can be found on the Quarry Project website, or can be downloaded as a pdf file HERE.
