Zotero Reference Manager

Zotero is software that allows you to easily collect, manage, and save bibliographic information about the items you find on the Web. It also works with word processing programs to help you easily cite your sources as you write.

As of the release of Zotero 3.0 in January 2012, there are two versions of Zotero. If you are a Firefox user and want to use Zotero within your browser, you can download the Firefox version.

If you want to use Zotero with another browser, you'll need to download the standalone version for your platform of choice (Windows or Mac). Make sure that you also download the appropriate connector file for whichever browser you normally use (Chrome or Safari).

All versions of Zotero and the connector files can be downloaded from Zotero.org.

Adding Items

When you visit a page that Zotero recognizes as a bibliographic item, such as an item in a library database or catalog, an icon will appear at the right-hand end of your browser's address bar.  The appearance of the icon depends on the type of resource being viewed, with the most common being the book icon and the lined page icon representing a journal article.

When you click on the icon, information about the item you are viewing will be automatically entered into your Zotero library.

If the page or other resource you want to save does not register with Zotero as a bibliographic source, you can add page manually using the "new item" button (the green circle with a plus sign), and choose the type of resource that you want to add. Note that this menu allows you to add non-web-based resources such as printed books, letters, and documents.



Once you have selected the appropriate document type, details about the document may be entered in the right-hand panel.



When an item has been entered into your Zotero library, not only do you have the link to an item, but Zotero will automatically save a snapshot of the page.  This is useful if you want to capture a web page as it appears today, for instance the front page of a news site on the day of an important event.


Creating Bibliographies

Once you have items saved in Zotero, you can create a bibliography from your items by selecting the items you want to include, right clicking, and choosing "Create Bibliography from Selected Items."

This will open a dialog window that will ask you what style you want to use and what you want to do with the bibliography.  If you choose "Save to clipboard," you can then paste the bibliography into a Word document.




Using Zotero Across Multiple Computers

Since it is a browser add-on, Zotero lives on a particular machine.  If you routinely use multiple computers, you will probably want to sign up for a Zotero account.  This will allow you to sync your Zotero library across computers, or to view your library directly on the Zotero website.  You can set your Zotero client to sync automatically in the preferences panel under "Sync."

Saving & Organizing References see full size


Citing your Sources see full size

Zotero does far more than is described in this brief summary. Abundant documentation is available at the Zotero web site. This includes a number of screencast tutorials and information on how to:

• organize your Zotero library using folders and tags
• integrate Zotero with your word processing software
• search within your library
• add notes and attachments to your references
• create reports from your library

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