About Citation Managers
Citation management programs, or citation managers, allow you to automatically store and easily organize your citations, create bibliographies formatted in major citation styles, and even create in-text citations using plugins for word processors like Microsoft Word. This page introduces some of the most popular, freely available citation managers.
Zotero is a free, open source tool that helps you gather, organize, share and use citations to articles, books, book chapters and more. It is available as a plug-in for the Firefox browser or as a standalone program that can be used with many browsers, such as Google Chrome and Safari. It works with the Mac and iOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
Since it works within your browser, you can add references as you're using the web. You can add PDFs, full text, audio and video. Zotero creates an automatic index to your citations so you can search your personal database and find references to use.
Zotero also works with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice to help create citations and bibliographies as you write.
Register for an account to get storage space and to use your database from any web browser.
- ZoteroA free citation management system, use with your browser to track citations and create bibliographies. Requires registration.
- Zotero DocumentationHas Quick Links to get started plus detailed information on how to use Zotero.
- Zotero ForumsDiscuss Zotero with other users and search for tips, tricks, and troubleshooting info.
Detailed Zotero Guides
A list of well-written guides from other colleges and universities.
- Zotero @ Georgia State UniversityA comprehensive guide to Zotero's main features. Be sure to check out the step-by-step process for creating Annotated Bibliographies.
- Zotero from Emory UniversityIncludes great tips on organizing your Zotero library, including how to use the built in PDF reader and turning your annotations into notes.
Alternatives to Zotero
For a side-by-side comparison of Zotero to other subscription citation management tools, visit:
- Citation and Writing Guides | Choosing a Citation ManagerBy Penn State University Libraries. Compares Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote Basic.
Other citation management tools include: