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Zotero

Information about the citation management software Zotero.

Zotero

ZoteroZotero is a citation management tool that helps you collect and organize citations from the web and works with Microsoft Word and Google Docs to insert citations as you write.

It was created in 2006 by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and has been run by the Corporation for Digital Scholarship since 2013.

 

Note: Stevens does not have an institutional subscription to this product, so you will have to create a personal account to use it.

Zotero Tools

Zotero can be used solely as a web-based library but more functionalities are available with the downloadable desktop tool (Mac, Windows, and Linux). You can use both the web library and desktop library as they'll sync up.

The Zotero Connector is a browser plug-in (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Safari) that allows you to save whatever you come across online into your web/desktop library.

ZoteroBib is a free web-based citation tool that generates citations from URL metadata, and saves what you enter to create a bibliography. It's free!

Storage

Zotero's basic File Storage plan (300mb of storage) is free, but there is a charge for more storage:

  • 2GB for $20/year
  • 6GB for $60/year
  • Unlimited for $120/year

 

Group Storage

Group libraries can be created through zotero.org, and file storage for shared libraries will draw from the storage account of the group owner.

Add-Ons and Plug-Ins

As open-source software, Zotero allows its users to create fixes and tools to improve the usability and function of the citation manager.

 
Plug-ins for Google Docs, Word, and LibreOffice:
All Plug-ins

Zotero Help Documentation & Tutorials

Zotero: Changing Citation Styles

Citation management tools all come preset with many of the major styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, AMA, etc.) but Zotero can also import new CSL files to format your citations in the style of whatever journal or publisher with whom you might be working.

The process to do so is as follows:

  1. Starting on the Cite tab of the Settings menu, verify that your style is not already loaded.
  2. Next, click the link to "Get additional styles...".
  3. Search for your style in the Zotero Style Repository (also linked below).
  4. Click on the name of the style to import it into your style library.

You may also import a new style by searching directly in one of the repositories listed here and downloading the CSL file (which stands for Citation Style Language), and then importing the CSL file into Zotero through clicking the plus button on the styles list.

Zotero: Sync to the Library

Connect to the Samuel C. Williams Library for greater functionality!

You can connect Zotero to the Library's OpenURL resolver so that citations can be searched for in the Library's collections through the Library Lookup tool.

Go to the Settings menu in Zotero Desktop, and scroll on the General tab to the Locate section. From the pulldown menu, select the resolver labeled "Stevens Institute of Technology".