Overview of Citation Managers

What are they?

Citation Managers are software applications that will help researchers …

• Gather references automatically from article databases
• Format  manuscripts and citations instantly in a variety of styles (MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.)
• Generate bibliographies
• Create and organize a personal research database of references, images and PDFs
• Share citations with colleagues on campus and around the world
• Transfer references among various applications
  

Citation Managers at UW-Madison

Any UW-Madison student, faculty or staff may use either RefWorks or EndNote Web for free as the UW-Madison Libraries currently license these resources. Please note: the UW-Madison Libraries will no longer subscribe to RefWorks after June 30, 2013. After that date, users may purchase an individual license to RefWorks after creating a backup of their account or transfer their citations to another program. EndNote Web is made available through the UW-Madison Libraries' subscription to Web of Knowledge. EndNote desktop must be purchased individually from DoIT or the UBS Digital Outpost. Both Mendeley and Zotero are free Web-based applications available to all.

For a list of citation managers supported by staff of the UW-Madison Libraries, please see our comparison chart. Library staff are happy to assist you in determining the best citation manager for your information needs. Please contact your liaison librarian or a member of the Citation Managers Working Group.

For a more comprehensive list of citation managers, please consult Wikipedia.