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Citation Management Systems (CMS): Zotero and Mendley: Home

Library Locations and Contact

Main Campus Library

2222 Wendell Avenue
Louisville, KY 40205
Ph: (502) 456-6773
Text: 502-200-1864
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Atkinson Square Location Library

3901 Atkinson Square Drive
Louisville, KY 40218
Ph: (502) 213-8260
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Dupont Circle Location Library

4000 Dupont Circle
Louisville, KY 40207
Ph: (502) 447-1000
Ph: (800) 264-1799
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Lexington Library

2355 Harrodsburg Road
Lexington, KY 40504
Ph: (859) 514-3359
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What is a Citation Management System?

Citation management systems (or reference management systems) are software programs designed to help researchers collect, organize, and format citations in a variety of styles. 

There are a variety of citation management systems. This guide provides information on two popular, no-cost systems: Zotero and Mendeley.

  • Zotero is a free citation manager that can be downloaded and interact with plugins for both Firefox and Chrome.
  • Mendeley is a free reference manager and social networking utility, which combines citation management with document sharing and workgroups to enhance collaboration.

Both of these systems can be used very effectively to organize citations. The selection of a citation management system is a personal preference.