What are citation organizers?
Citation organizers (or reference managers) store and organize citation information for a variety of research resources for easy representation in a variety of citation styles. These programs allow you to build reference library for many information sources, including journal articles, books and book chapters, audiovisual materials, websites, and more.
Common features:
- Exist in a desktop and/or browser-based version
- Support all major citation styles, with some specialized or custom styles
- Allow import directly from databases and web
- Build bibliographies with a single click
- Offer “cite while you write” Word integration
- May support PDF attaching, annotating
- Allow you to tag and share libraries
Which ones are supported by the library?
Zotero: Easy to use, free, open-source program available for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari browsers. Works well with websites and library databases. You can download a plugin to use your library in Word. Cloud version syncs to desktop version. Additional file storage available for purchase (300 MB for free). Here is a brief tutorial created by USU. Or, view a very helpful guide created by a librarian at Georgia State University to get started & USU's Zotero LibGuide.
Which one should I use?
More questions?
Schedule a consultation with the USU librarians for Zotero or view the following guides:
- Zotero Help Guide (from Georgia State)
- Zotero Tutorial (from Cal Poly Pomona)
- EndNote Help Guide (from USU)
Library help
