Zotero: A Beginner's Guide

The easiest way to import a book citation into your Zotero Library, use its ISBN*.

1. In Zotero, select the folder you want the book citation added.
2. Find the ISBN on the back of the book or from an online source.
3. In Zotero, select the "magic" wand on the top bar. It is the icon to the right of the green plus.
4. Enter the 10-digit or 13-digit ISBN
5. Select the enter key
6. Zotero will search for the record and import it.

*NOTE: ISBN (International Standard Book Number) began in the early 1970s so this method won't work for older titles. For older titles add them manually.

Manually add an item to your Zotero library:

1. Select the green “New Item” icon at the top of the center column.
2. Select the desired item type from the drop-down menu (e.g. book, book chapter, article, etc)
3. An empty space (place holder) for the item type will now appear
4. Enter the bibliographic information in the right panel
5. The empty space will change with the new information.

Often you want to cite only a book chapter instead of the entire book*. You can easily change a book record in Zotero to a chapter.

1. First add the book to your Zotero Library (see above)
2. In Zotero, select the book title so you can see the metadata in the Info pane (the right column of Zotero)
3. In the Info pane, select "Book" in the Item Type row, and change it to "Book Section" (top row in the info pane)
4. The info form will change, which now includes editor(s), author, Title (for chapter), Book Title, etc.
5. Make the necessary additions and edits