Create your bibliography with Zotero

Zotero is a free, open-source bibliographic management program. It allows you to save bibliographic references and publications in PDF format, organize them and generate an automatic bibliography in word processing software.

There’s also a useful browser extension that lets you add a reference and its associated document with a single click.

The software is easy to use, but here are two tips on how to create a bibliography, store and synchronize a lot of data on a server, and back-up your library.

Tip n°1: Synchronization with a server

We can store our bibliography online on a specific server, to increase the size of our storage space. For example, the University of Lorraine, where our research is carried out, has an online WebDAV server.

  • Click on the Edit menu in Zotero, then on Preferences > Synchronization.

  • You need to have an account, so enter your login details.

  • Once synchronized, choose the WebDAV option instead of Zotero.

  • Then put in the URL address (https): zotero-webdav.univ-lorraine.fr.

  • Then the university identifier for the user name and password.

Zotero tutorial

Tip n°2: Back-up your library

It’s a good idea to back up your library in the case of connection problems or data loss.

  • In Zotero’s Edit menu, go to Preferences > Advanced > Files and folders.

  • Click on Open data directory to locate the data, then close Zotero.

  • You can now copy all your files and folders to a USB key, server or other storage device.

  • Then, to restore your library from these files on another computer, for example, Zotero offers a simple import procedure.