Skip to Main Content

Citation Management Tools: Zotero

Content created by University of Manitoba Libraries. Reused and adapted here with their kind permission.

Getting Started

Download and install Zotero 5.0 just as you would any other program.

You will also need to install a browser extension to allow your browser to save items to your Zotero library (Available for Firefox, Chrome and Safari).

Zotero 5.0

Zotero is a powerful, easy-to-use research tool that helps you gather, organize, and analyze sources and then share the results of your research.

Zotero can help you:

  •     Annotate and organize research results, including video.
  •     Save information about a reference, including author, title, and other publication information.
  •     Create libraries and save searches, and share collections with other people.
  •     Attach files, links, notes, and pdfs to records.
  •     Store a screenshot of a web page.
  •     Export information as formatted citations in word processing programs (Word, OpenOffice, Google Docs).
  •     Tag and sort records and perform advanced searches.
  •     Extract citation information from imported PDF documents.
  •     View records in your personal collection when offline.
  •     Cite records in any language.

Zotero User Guide



The Zotero Documentation/Support page gives comprehensive information and instructions on installing and using Zotero including a Quick Start Guide, Adding Items to your library, Generating Bibliographies, Citations and Reports, backing up your library etc.    

Zotero Help

The Zotero forums page has up to date discussions from users and Zotero moderators. If you have a question you can search the forum to see if there is an answer available or start a new discussion yourself.

You can also follow the Zotero Twitter feed (opposite) to view recent developments with the product.

Zotero Apps


The mobile version of zotero.org allows you to access and edit your Zotero library on your tablet or mobile phone. The Zotero Bookmarklet allows you to save items from your mobile device's browser directly to your zotero.org account. While there are no official Zotero apps for mobile devices, there are several third party solutions.

Click on the link below to find out more.