Adding Items
The Zotero Connector's save button is the most convenient and reliable way to add items to your Zotero library. As you browse the web, the Zotero Connector will automatically find bibliographic information on web pages you visit and allow you to add it to Zotero with a single click.
For example, if you are reading a journal article online, the save button will change to the icon of a journal article (outlined in red):
On a LUC Libraries catalog entry for a book, the save button will show a book icon (outlined in red):
Once you've clicked on the Zotero icon, a new reference will be added to your library. When the reference is recognized by Zotero, it should add the full citation information for the article to your library, but it's a good idea to double-check the reference to make sure it was properly imported. This way, you do not discover faulty citations when it comes time for you to cite documents.
On many sites, Zotero will also save any PDF accessible from the page or an open-access PDF that can be found for the saved item.
If you are viewing a PDF file in your browser, the save button will show a PDF icon (outlined in red).
Clicking this button will import the PDF file alone into your library and then automatically attempt to retrieve information about it. This works well for articles delivered to you via Interlibrary Loan! While this will often produce good results, it is usually better to use the save button on the publication's abstract page or catalog entry.
Multiple Results
On some web pages that contain information about multiple items (e.g., a list of Google Scholar/library catalog search results), the save button will show a folder icon (outlined in red).
Clicking this folder icon will open a window where you can select the items that you want to save to Zotero.
One helpful feature of Zotero is that you can directly add references if you have an identifier for the item, like an ISBN (for books), DOI (for articles), or PubMed ID (for articles indexed by PubMed).
To do this, go to your Zotero window and click on the Add Item(s) by Identifier icon, enter the identifier and it will be added to your library.
Adding Notes to Items
Once you have added an item, you can add notes to that item for your records. To do this, click on the item that you want to add a note to, then click on the Note button and add a Child Note. You can then type the note out in the rightmost section of the Zotero pane. Child notes are attached to items. If you want to add a note to the entire library, then you can select Standalone Note.
