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Citation Management Tools

Overview

A citation manager helps you keep track of articles and books as you find them, tag and annotate them, and easily create citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other writing software. Using any citation manager will be more efficient for most scholars than not using one at all.

Most citation managers consist of three parts:

  • a collection of your citations,
  • browser plug-ins to more easily capture citation information from your sources,
  • a plug-in or other way to easily get your citations into your work, usually in a variety of citation styles.

Even if you use a citation manager, you will still need to consider what citation style you plan to use (even though the formatting with many citation managers is automatic).

In this guide, you'll find information on: PowerNotes, RefWorks, and Zotero.

If you have questions about choosing a citation manager, contact your local librarian. Also, feel free to contact us to when you have questions about best practices or if have trouble with these tools.

Which tool is right for you?

The System Libraries support RefWorks and PowerNotes. Which program is right for you? Some things to think about when you choose:

PRODUCT RefWorks Zotero
Best Uses Organizing research,  collecting references from different sources, collaborating on projects, and generating citations Organizing research,  collecting references from different sources, collaborating on projects, and generating citations
Cost Free through The System Libraries' license. Open Source
Bluebook Style  Yes Yes, with a plugin
Web plugins Yes Yes
Supported Browsers
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Latest versions of Firefox (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
  • Latest versions of Safari (Mac)
  • Latest versions of Google Chrome

Zotero connector

  • Chrome 55 or later
  • Firefox 60 or later
  • Safari on macOS Big Sur or later (details)
Word Add-on Yes Yes
Collaboration Share folders and individual resources
  • Share folders and resources
  •  Create public or private groups, invite members
  •  Sync libraries with other users