Editorial style guide

The rules most often needed when writing for the Library. Entries are A to Z. Each entry gives the rule, then the reason or an example where it helps.

Rule levels. Always and Never are fixed rules. Prefer is the default, and you can depart from it with a reason. Anything not covered here: follow the voice, flag the question to Marketing & Communications, and propose a rule (see How this guide works).

Quick reference

A

Accessibility

Always write alt text for every meaningful image. Describe what is shown and why it matters in context. For historical photographs, the alt text follows the same accuracy rules as the caption: no date, place or sitter that the holding institution's record does not support. Captions and transcripts accompany video and audio.

AI-generated images

Never use AI-generated images of people, of the Library, or of any real, identifiable building or landmark. See Imagery and media. Never present an AI image as a photograph.

Ampersand (&)

Prefer "and" in running text. Use "&" only in proper names that use it (for example, a named gallery or partner) and in tight design layouts.

Attribution

Always attribute quotations and historical images. See Quotations and Credits and captions.

B

Benefactors

Always "Benefactors," capitalized, for people and organizations that give to the Library. Never "donors" in public copy.

Benefactors made the Library possible.

The Boardwalk

Always "the Boardwalk" for the elevated walkway. Never "the Cultural Loop," the name used in early design documents.

Buttes

Always "buttes" for North Dakota landforms. Never "mesas." Proper nouns keep their names (Mesa Verde).

C

Capitalization

• Always capitalize the Library and the Foundation when they refer to this institution.
• Always capitalize Trustees and Benefactors.
• Always capitalize the four Values when used as the Values: Dare Greatly, Think Boldly, Live Passionately, Care Deeply.

Certifications and sustainability claims

Always "pursuing" Living Building Challenge certification (or any other certification) until certification is formally confirmed. Never "certified," "achieved" or "net-zero building" as a completed fact. Performance figures (energy, water, carbon) need approval before publishing; see Accuracy and approvals.

Counting

Never count items when introducing links or lists ("Four pages follow Alice..."). Give each link a title and a short teaser that invites the reader to go deeper.

Credits and captions

• Historical images: caption facts (date, place, people, photographer) must match the holding institution's catalog record. Credit the institution as it asks to be credited.
• Press photos in social posts: add a credit line (Photos: Name).
• Material from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) is credited to the TRA.
• Captions use Frutiger Next in design (see Visual identity).

D

Dates and seasons

• Never put the current or a future year in evergreen visitor copy ("the 2027 season"). It goes stale. Write seasons as months ("May through September").
• Historical dates: month day, year (October 27, 1858). Verify every date.

E

Email

• Always use "Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library" as the From name, for every email and automation. Not "...Foundation."
• Subject lines: plain and specific. Say what is inside.

"Experience"

Never use "experience" as aspirational filler ("a world-class experience," "an unforgettable experience"). Say what people do, see or learn.

F

Filler and superlatives

Never use unverifiable superlatives (world-class, best, unmatched, transformative journey). Historical "firsts," "onlys," "youngests" and "largests" are factual claims: each needs a source, or it is cut.

First reference

Prefer "Theodore Roosevelt" on first reference, then "T.R." or "Roosevelt." For the period-correct title (Governor, President, Colonel), see Names and titles for T.R..

Funding

Always "independently operated." Never "privately funded."

G

Gratitude

Thanks to Benefactors, partners, volunteers and staff should be plain, specific and said once. Gratitude spread through every sentence reads as insincere, and stacked adjectives say less than one specific fact.

Always

• Thank once, near the top or at the close, not in every paragraph.
• Name what the person or organization did and what it makes possible. The specific outcome carries the thanks.
• Use the name the Benefactor asked to be recognized by. Confirm it with Development before publishing.
• Keep executive and institutional letters composed and formal.

Never

• Stack intensifiers: "deeply and sincerely grateful for your incredibly generous support."
• Repeat "thank you" in several forms in one short piece.
• Publish a gift amount or donor figure without Development's approval.
• Use folksy or familiar language in letters from leadership.

Before

We are so incredibly grateful and truly humbled by your amazingly generous gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your support means the world to us, and we couldn't be more thankful to have you on this journey with us.

After

Thank you for your gift to the Library's education fund. It brings school groups from across western North Dakota to Medora this spring, many for their first visit to a presidential library.

(Use the real program and outcome. Never invent an impact.)

In social posts and public acknowledgments: one line of thanks, tag the partner where the platform allows, then the substance.

In press releases: thank sponsors and Benefactors in a single sentence or a standard closing paragraph, not throughout.

H

Hashtags

• #DareGreatly is evergreen. #TR250 is the campaign hashtag.
• #TeddyRoosevelt is allowed as a hashtag for search discovery. It is the only place "Teddy" may appear.
• Verify every handle before tagging.

Hours

Never restate operating hours in other copy. Link to trlibrary.com/visit/hours, the one place hours live. The Library is open year-round with seasonal hours; never describe it as summer-only.

Hyphenation

Never use automatic hyphenation to break words at line ends, in any layout. Adjust line breaks, tracking or copy instead.

I

Indigenous peoples and nations

Use the name each nation uses for itself. Content about Indigenous history, people or places, including the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation, is always reviewed before publishing. See Accuracy and approvals.

K

Kettle Hill and the San Juan Heights

Always "Kettle Hill" for the Rough Riders' charge and "the San Juan Heights" for the wider battle. Never "San Juan Hill" in prose. It may appear only inside a proper name or a published title.

L

Library, Foundation

• The Library: the public-facing name of the institution and the place. Use it in nearly all copy.
• The Foundation: the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, the organization. Use it for legal, financial and governance contexts.
• The Library is not part of the National Archives (NARA) presidential library system. Roosevelt's presidency predates that system. Describe this neutrally. Never say the Library "bypassed" NARA or that NARA "constrains" anyone.

Links

• Link text says where the link goes ("Plan your visit"), never "click here."
• Every public post or email includes a way to visit: trlibrary.com/visit or a ticket link. Press-coverage posts are the exception; see Channels.

M

Mesa

See Buttes.

N

Names and titles for T.R.

• Always "T.R." with periods in prose.
• Never "Teddy" in prose, headlines, captions or alt text. Hashtag exception: #TeddyRoosevelt. The common noun "teddy bear" is fine when the subject is the toy.
• Use the title correct for the period discussed: Governor Roosevelt for his governorship of New York, President Roosevelt for his presidency, and Colonel Roosevelt for the years after the presidency (the Story Guide's convention). "Theodore" and "T.R." work in any period.

Nonpartisan

Always nonpartisan. Roosevelt's legacy belongs to no party. Ground contemporary connections in shared values, not current political debates. Never name recent or current political figures in Library copy without review. See Accuracy and approvals.

Numbers

Specific figures (attendance, finances, gifts, sustainability performance) need approval before they appear in writing. See Accuracy and approvals.

P

Participants

Always "participants" for people who visit or take part in the Library's programs. Never "visitors," "guests" or "audience" in Library copy.

Why. The brand foundation casts people in an active role. Participants step into the arena; visitors watch from the sidelines.

Exceptions. Proper names keep their wording (a park's "Visitor Center"), and quotations are never changed.

~~Guests can explore three galleries.~~

Participants explore three galleries.

The rule is about the noun for people. "Visit" as a verb or a call to action ("Plan your visit," "Visit the Library") is fine.

Where "participants" feels stiff, rewrite around the person: "you," "families," "students," "everyone who comes through the doors."

Present tense

The Library is open. Never use pre-opening or future-tense language about the Library itself ("will open," "will feature").

Q

Quotations

T.R.'s words are quoted verbatim. Always.

• Never paraphrase, modernize, shorten without ellipses, or reconstruct a Roosevelt quotation.
• Always cite the source (speech, letter or book, with the date). In design, historic T.R. quotes carry their location and year.
• Always check Misquotes and Did TR Really Say That? before using any quotation.
• If the wording cannot be verified, describe the idea without quotation marks, or cut it.
• Never use: "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota" or its variants. It is widely repeated, and its exact wording has not been verified.
• The four Values are not quotations. See Brand foundation.

Every quotation goes through the accuracy check. See Accuracy and approvals.

R

Renderings

Never use the Library's architectural renderings. The building is open: use real photographs.

S

San Juan Hill

See Kettle Hill and the San Juan Heights.

Signatures

The Teddy Regular typeface (from T.R.'s handwriting) is never used as, or presented as, his signature. See Visual identity.

T

T.R.

See Names and titles for T.R..

Throat-clearing

Never announce what is about to be said. Cut "it is worth noting," "it bears mentioning," "to put it plainly," "simply put," "let's be clear." Lead with the fact.

Trustees

Always "Trustees," capitalized. Never "board members."

V

Values

See Brand foundation. Not T.R. quotations.

Visit length

A standard visit is about three and a half hours. Never suggest a shorter visit is typical or enough, in copy, itineraries or tools.

W

We, our, us

Prefer minimal first person in institutional copy. Write about the place, the story and the participant.

Open questions

These are not yet decided. Until a rule is set, be consistent within a piece and flag the choice to Marketing & Communications:

• Base style manual for points this guide does not cover (AP or Chicago)
• Serial (Oxford) comma
• Time format (10 a.m. or 10:00 AM)
• Numerals versus words for numbers under ten