A method that enables automatic retrieval and transfer of bibliographical information whenever content is copied from a web page. During creation of a web page, the meta data defining each independent portion of the content is linked via paired comments or meta tags to bibliographical information associated with the content. When a person accesses the web site and copies the content from the site, the bibliographical information is automatically appended to the content. If that content is then pasted into a different document, e.g., within a word processing application, the bibliographical information is automatically transferred to a location for such information within the document. Also, if the content is saved, the bibliographical information is saved along with the content.