Another Zotero Update

Crickey, you wait months for a blog posts and then a number greater than one come along practically simultaneously.  I'm bored writing about JSTOR (I'm not really), so I'll write about Zotero, as there are two interesting developments on that front.

The first is the release of ZotPad, which is the more astute of you will have correctly deduced is an app that brings Zotero functionality to your iPad.  It is limited in that as yet, it provides read-only access to data and attachments stored on the Zotero server and allows the user to browse items by libraries and collections. Downloading and viewing the following file types is supported: PDF, MS Office , iWork , RTF, plain text, csv, and images.  You will also need a Zotero account and to have stored your data on the Zotero server (which may well be a safer storage place than your PC or laptop.  Zotpad will cost you $5.99 (yes $) if you feel that that this app is the thing for you.

Perhaps of more significance is the release of Zotero 3.0, the first version of Zotero that is not dependent on Firefox. Zotero 3.0 will work standalone or can integrate into Google Chrome and Apple Safari. It will, of course, work in Firefox if that's what you prefer.  The release also has some new features, including deduplication, better word processor integration and greater compatibility with other reference management software. You can download Zotero 3.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux, and I for one will be downloading Zotero 3.0 after I finish typing this.

Mobile Apps for Zotero

This post is the motherlode as it's about two things I'm interested in, Zotero and mobile apps .  If you've read this blog before, you'll know that we plug Zotero, which is a free reference management software.  By reference management, I mean keeping track of your bibliographies and plugging the citations into your assignments and dissertations.  Until recently Zotero was only available as a Firefox add-on, but a stand-alone version has just been released.

Recently a number paid and free iPhone and Android Zotero apps have appeared. Here's a quick look at a few of them:

Zandy (Android)

Zandy allows you to access your Zotero library from your Android smartphone You can edit  and view your library, sync, and work offline. Zandy provides a simple interface to all your research. You can browse and modify the items in your library, as well as add new items to your library, all from your phone.

Zandy has been created  by one of volunteers working on the Zotero project and will cost you €2.94.


Scanner for Zotero (Android)

Scan the ISBN barcode on any book, and Scanner For Zotero will retrieve the book's bibliographic information from the web and allow you to add it to your Zotero library.

You can download the code or an Android installation file, or simply pay €1.46 for the App itself

BibUp (iPhone)

BibUp is an iPhone equivalent of Scanner for Zotero, with the added functionality of photographing specific pages to be collected, on which BibUp will even perform OCR.  BibUp weighs in at my favourite price: free.