The Bluebook is the standard citation format for nearly all law reviews and journals. It is compiled and maintained as a joint collaboration among the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review Association, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. The most recent edition, the 21st, was released in 2020.
The BluebookMastering the Bluebook takes time and practice, but there are additional resources to help you navigate the Bluebook.
Understanding and Mastering the Bluebook by A citation manager helps you keep track of articles and books as you find them, tag and annotate them, and easily create citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word. Using any citation manager will be more efficient for most scholars than not using one at all. Each manager has its own plug-in for Microsoft Word and some also have browser plug-ins for easy capture of web links. Each manager also has built-in connections to Google Scholar and common library reference databases. Each manager has options for group-based collaborative research.
We offer five main choices to you in this guide: Refworks, Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote, and Papers.
Refworks, the most popular choice on campus, is provided by Penn Libraries for the Penn community (including alumni). It is a stable, well-established platform, but has limitations in terms of working with PDF files.
Endnote, the oldest of the four, works well for the health sciences and for large collections of articles, despite some technical and installation issues.
Zotero is an open-source software program that is notable for its ease of use, its ability to grab screenshots, and its capabilities for archiving website content for local storage.
Mendeley, the newest option of the four, is a cloud-based proprietary system that includes Facebook-style social networking, PDF annotation, a platform for self-promotion and crowd-sourcing of citations and annotations. Mendeley has a wide range of functionality but suffers from performance and accuracy issues.
Papers, was once only available for Mac users. Now, available for Windows and IOS devices. Papers is known for its ability to manage you only your references but also your PDF collection.
We recommend that you explore a variety of citation managers, consulting with library staff as needed, before choosing one. We can provide guidance on best practices and share our experiences.
Thanks to Mat Willmott at MIT Libraries for creating the template for this chart.
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| Link to web guides | Quick-Start Guides | Documentation | Support | Technical Support & Services | Support |
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Type |
Web-based |
Desktop software and browser add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari |
Desktop software and web-based. Works with IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari |
Desktop client software; also has web interface, EndNote Web |
Desktop software. Sync's with Dropbox account |
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Cost |
Free via Penn license. Sign up for an individual account on the RefWorks website. (Penn only) |
Free with 300 MB of back-up storage. Storage upgrades available for a monthly fee. Open source. Download Zotero |
Free with 2GB of web space and 100 MB shared library space. Storage upgrades available for a monthly fee. Download Mendeley |
Desktop software available at Penn Computer Connection for $115. Endnote Web Basic with 2GB storage is free. |
$79 regular price, $49 student price |
| Learning curve | Fairly quick to learn; many online user guides and demos | Quick to learn; simple design, many online user guides and demos | Quick to learn. Pretty simple interface | Takes longer to learn, but not difficult with training | Quick to learn. |
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Strengths? |
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How does it work? |
You export references from compatible databases into RefWorks |
Zotero can tell when you are looking at an item and shows an icon for it in the Firefox URL bar. Click the icon to add the item to your Zotero references |
You export references from compatible databases. Mendeley will also retrieve metadata for pdfs that are brought in |
You export references from compatible databases into EndNote |
You use an internal search feature to search and retrieve records from several research databases. You can also use a bookmarklet to retrieve records from other databases. |
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Does it have many output styles and bibliographic formats? |
Yes, many popular styles and formats |
Yes, many popular styles and formats |
Yes, many popular styles and formats |
Yes, many popular styles and formats |
Yes, many popular styles and formats |
| How simple is it to import records? | Simple to import records from most research databases | Very simple, as long as the resource is compatible with Zotero, but you will want to verify that the records are complete after import | Very simple using the Mendeley browser plugin. However, the import doesn't work with as many databases as other products. | Simple to import records from most research databases | Simple to import records from most research databases |
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What kinds of records can you import and organize (PDFs, images, etc.)? |
Records for articles and books |
Books, articles, patents, and webpages; Can also store PDFs, web screenshots, files, and images in records. You can make PDFs searchable by choosing to index them in the preferences menu. |
You can import bibliographic citations and PDFs. Can also manually add citations |
Can organize records for articles and books; PDFs and other file types can also be stored in the records. Can download PDFs in batches. PDFs aren't searchable. |
Books, articles, patents, and webpages; can also store PDFs, webscreenshots, files, and images in records. |
| Are records in your library viewable by others? | Yes; Users can share references in library with other RefWorks users | Yes. Users can set up individual and group profiles and share records | Yes. Users can set up groups to share references. Users can decide whether or not to make their library viewable by others | No. | No |
| Can you export records to other citation software? | Yes | Yes | Yes. Export to EndNote XML, RIS and BibTeX | Yes | Yes |
| Is managing and maintaining a big library (1000 records) complicated? | Not complex, but it can be cumbersome to manage large libraries | More difficult; takes time to sort out duplicates and verify that records are complete | No known problems. May need to purchase extra space. | Not complex; EndNote is best option for maintaining large libraries | No known problems |
| Does it work with word processing software? | Works with Word through "Write-N-Cite" feature and LaTex through BibTex | Works with Word and Open Office; also works with LaTex through BibTex. You can create a list of Works Cited for Google Docs | Works with Word and OpenOffice. | Clean integration with Word and powerful formatting and customization features; also works with Open Office and LaTex through BibTex | Fully functional with Microsoft Word 2004, 2008, 2011 and Pages 2008, 2009 |
| Does it back up your records? | Yes | Yes, if you choose to back up or sync your Zotero library. A small amount of storage is free. | Yes | No | You can sync your Papers Library with Dropbox |
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One organizational tool relatively new to the game is Powernotes, a Chrome extension which allows you to save, annotate, and organize links and PDFs, including in Lexis/Westlaw/Bloomberg.
Penn does not currently provide subscriptions to this, but you can create one project for free or subscribe individually. If you find it especially useful, you may also contact the law library to indicate your support for us purchasing this service.