Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work— in the web browser itself.
Zotero can accessed by downloading the Windows Zotero application and the connector for the browser going forward. Plugins for Microsoft Word and LibreOffice are also included. It works best in the Firefox browser.
Zotero is installed by visiting zotero.org, clicking the Download button on the page, and selecting the version of Zotero you wish to install. For more details, see installation instructions.
Zotero can be opened from your operating system's dock or file manager like any other program. Zotero does have to be open for you to save material you want to add to your research collection.
Zotero is, at the most basic level, a reference manager. It is designed to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles. In Zotero, each of these references constitutes an item.
Every item contains different metadata, depending on what type it is. Items can be everything from books, articles, and documents to web pages, artwork, films, sound recordings, bills, cases, or statutes, among many others.
Items appear in the center column. The metadata for that item is in the right column. This includes titles, creators, publishers, dates, and any other data needed to cite the item.
