Zotero Has New Features

The good news is that Zotero has always been an awesome, free, and open-source reference manager for research.  It is a Firefox browser add on that allows one to save metadata, files, links, and notes about information that you find anywhere on the web.  For the uninitiated, I highly recommend watching the introduction video and trying it next time you’re compiling information for a research project.

The great news is that the beta version of Zotero just got even better, because now you can sign up for an account on zotero.org and sync your Zotero library between more than one computer. I no longer have to keep my home research and my work research separate.  I can work on any project from any computer.  Needless to say, I’m very excited!

To learn more about getting started with Zotero, check out the Quick Start Guide which includes tours, demos, illustrations and instructions.

To get the new syncing functionality, visit the Zotero home page using the Firefox browser and be sure to click on the “Try out Beta 1.5″ button.  Use the export function in settings to backup your library before your first sync.  The process was seamless for me, but it is still a beta project, so you want to be safe rather than sorry. (For Internet Explorer users who have never heard of Firefox:  Firefox is an open-source, free internet browser that allows users to extend its functionality with neat addons.  You can learn more at their homepage.)

As always, USA people should feel free to contact me if you want help setting up or using Zotero or installing the new beta.

How to store information in Zotero

Jing

Ok, are you ever on chat reference, or on the phone, or emailing with a patron, and you just can’t seem to understand one another? Maybe they aren’t starting from the databases and resources page, or they don’t understand that you are guiding them through searching on the Advanced Search features and they are looking at the Basic Search box. Whatever the reason, it would be so much easier if they could see.

Jing is a great way to take care of this problem so that you can easily show them what you mean. It can create a screen capture (image) or a screencast (movie) and upload it in seconds, providing you with a link to send to them over chat or email that will show them exactly what you just did. Maybe the video will do a better job of explaining:

There’s also another short video here, in case you’d like to see it explained a little differently. There’s also a lot of information about getting started with Jing on their website.

Anyone who wants some training in how to use it, just let me know. I’m also happy to help anyone set it up on their own computers with approval from systems, as always.

Linking to a PubMed Search

Today, I had a lengthy chat session at the reference desk with a woman who was trying to provide links to a faculty member’s latest publications on his or her webpage, but couldn’t remember how it was done. Well, I had never known how it was done, and other’s couldn’t remember so I thought I would post the reminder here.

To get a url for a search in PubMed, you first perform your search place all the limits on the results. Then you choose the details tab under the search box. Next, you click the “URL” button to the right of the Search button under the box that contains the search string. The results will reappear, but the address bar of the browser will have changed to contain the search string in the URL.

You might like to watch a video of me going through the steps.