Today’s post was written by library student assistant Catalina Garcia.
On October 25, librarians Elisa Acosta, Alexander Justice, and Susan Archambault hosted a workshop on how to use Zotero, a free citation management tool. The workshop had three objectives: (1) to show students how to import citations from library databases and websites into a Zotero folder; (2) how to generate a bibliography in a specific citation style; and (3) how to create in-text citations using the Microsoft Word integration feature. But first, they set out to tackle the main question: what even are citation managers?
In college, many classes require research papers, and most require 5 or more references. Being able to stay organized with all your citations is an essential skill for academic research and writing. Citation managers help you keep track of your references by saving and organizing your resources, auto-inserting citations as you write, and making those citations shareable with groups.
There are three major citation managers: Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote. Zotero was highlighted as a fully free, open-source tool offering 300 MB of online storage (with unlimited local storage via desktop). It has broad compatibility with Word and Google Docs, built-in offline functionality, and strong collaboration options via group libraries. While Mendeley and EndNote offer similar core features, Zotero stands out because it’s free! With only Zotero, students can save references from library databases, websites, and PDFs using a browser extension; annotate, tag, and organize sources into folders or groups; create bibliographies in any citation style quickly and automatically; and integrate other writing applications (Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice) to insert citations and manage bibliographies. Zotero is not just a citation generator but a full reference-management ecosystem.
The William H. Hannon Library has a LibGuide dedicated to what Zotero is, how to get started, and how to easily download the application onto your respective laptop. With these four simple steps, you can have Zotero on your desktop:
- Create a Zotero account using your email at https://www.zotero.org/user/register
- Download the desktop version of Zotero for Mac or Windows
- Download the Zotero Plug-in Connector for your browser
- Sync your Zotero desktop version to your account
The workshop also highlighted ZoteroBib, a simpler, standalone citation generator from the Zotero team. ZoteroBib requires no installation or account and is ideal for short-term or occasional citation needs. While it lacks the organizational features of full Zotero, it provides a fast and accessible solution for creating individual bibliographies without building a long-term library.
A major part of the workshop covered inserting citations directly while writing. Zotero’s plugin adds a toolbar to Word or Google Docs that allows users to search their Zotero library from within the document, insert formatted in-text citations with one click, automatically build a bibliography that updates as new citations are added, and switch citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) at any time. This integration eliminates manual formatting and helps ensure consistency throughout academic assignments or research papers.
Overall, the library does a wonderful job connecting students to free helpful resources that can be utilized for research projects, or even fun personal projects where you may need an organizational tool. The library’s LibGuides also serves as an important source of information that has all the instructions students need, as well as other guides tailored to your specific major or other websites that can be utilized.
Personally, as a biology major who is always doing some sort of research project or papers each semester, Zotero has been life-changing. This is because it allows me to organize my sources into folders for each class, making my life easier and filled with less anxiety compared to having to see my computer filled with 20+ tabs, just because I do not want to lose a website. The library’s LibGuides are an amazing, underutilized resource that the library provides because they have tailored specific guides and websites recommended for use depending on your major. This makes searching up research papers to analyze and use as sources much easier and less time-consuming. One major takeaway that I have learned from this webinar is that we should all appreciate the library a bit more for the work they do. Yes, I may be a bit biased, but I can vouch for the amazing resource our library provides.