Using Zotero to Manage Citations & Bibliographies

For more assistance, contact Karen Munro or Katy Lenn.

What is Zotero?

Zotero is a free plug-in (downloadable application) for the Firefox browser.  It tracks and organizes your research sources, and can output your citations into bibliographies in a variety of formats (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) 

You cannot use Zotero with Internet Explorer or any other browser.  You must use Firefox version 3.0 or higher. You can use Zotero on Mac, Windows, or Linux operating systems.

Currently, you cannot download Zotero onto the library's public workstations.  You can download it onto your own Internet-connected computer.

You can download Zotero and review tutorials here.

Zotero at the UO

UO users (students, staff, and faculty) should set Zotero's OpenURL resolver to map to the UO's SFX tool.  This will allow you to link from citations in your Zotero library to the full-text of articles within our online databases.

To do this:

1. Open Zotero.
2. Click on the gear icon in the menu bar.
3. Click "Preferences"
4. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5. In the bottom section of the screen, under "OpenURL," choose "Custom" in the drop-down menu and paste this URL into the "Resolver" field:  http://breeze.uoregon.edu:9003/findtext/
6. Close "Preferences."

Using Zotero Online

Zotero offers a web-based service that is in advanced beta.  This service requires you to create a user account, but then allows you access to your Zotero library from any Internet-connected computer with Zotero installed.  It also allows you to access group libraries created by other Zotero users.

To learn more about Zotero 2.0, click here .

Troubleshooting Zotero

If Zotero isn't downloading correctly from databases and the Web, try checking "Accept third-party cookies" in the Firefox Preferences Privacy tab.  

If you are using Zotero 2.0 and aren't able to connect to your online account to transfer files to a shared group or access them from another computer, check to be sure that your Zotero.org account information matches exactly with the information in the Zotero Preferences Synch tab.

For more in-depth troubleshooting, check the Zotero support pages and forums.

Alternatives to Zotero

As a UO user, you can freely use EndNote Web, a Web-based tool that does the same things as Zotero.  Your access to EndNote Web ends when you are no longer a UO user (student, faculty, or staff.)

EndNote is also available for purchase as a software package.