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Zotero: Bibliographies

This guide was created to support the TAMU-CC community and serve as a resource for information about the Zotero citation management tool.

How to Create Bibliographies in Zotero

There are two ways to create bibliographies in Zotero.

  • Create a Quick Bibliography from a list or selected citations in your library
  • Install a plug-in for Word or your word processing program that integrates Zotero so you can write your paper and add citations while you are writing it. 

Zotero comes pre=loaded with the most common bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download.

Creating Bibliographies & Adding Additional Styles

It's easy to create a bibliography from your Zotero library.

Select the references or collections you want to include. Hold the control key and click to select multiple items. Right-click one of the selected items and choose Create Bibliography.

Choose the bibliographic style you want, select Copy to Clipboard, click OK and paste into your word processor.

This method works with any word processor (or anywhere you can paste text).

 

​Zotero offers word processing plugins for Microsoft Word and other word processing programs. The plugin adds a Zotero toolbar to your word processor that allows you to add citations to your document while you write. Look for the Zotero tab in Word and then once you open it up, look to the left corner under "File" to find the buttons for adding citations and bibliographies to your paper. 

To add a citation, click the first button ("Add/Edit Citation") on the toolbar. Search for the reference you want to cite and press Enter. Zotero will add the citation at your cursor.


 

At the end of your paper, click the "Insert Bibliography" button. Your bibliography will appear, and new citations will be added automatically.
 


Change bibliographic styles with the "Document Preferences" button.

The toolbar looks different on different operating systems and versions of Word. Mousing over the toolbar will pop up each button's function if they're not clearly labeled.

Zotero comes with the most common bibliographic styles, but many more are available to download.

To install a style:

  1. Go to the Zotero Style Repository page.
  2. Search for the name of the style you need.
  3. Download the style (right-click the Install link and choose Save As).
  4. Open Zotero preferences. Click Cite, then Styles, then the "+" button, and select the style you downloaded (a .CSL file).

The new style will appear in Zotero's style lists. This is what the page looks like: