Zotero for Mac: Capturing Book Citations
To find books at the CSUSB Libraries, both printed and online, use OneSearch - Books & Media (CSUSB).
- FULL TEXT FOR ONLINE BOOKS? -
Due to the way the online books are configured, full text cannot be captured by Zotero. Instead, follow the instructions on the first screen of the ebook. Please see our guide, Ebooks at Pfau Library.
Video Tutorial (4 minutes, 10 seconds)
PRINTED BOOKS
- CITATION ONLY IN ZOTERO -
When you find a printed book you like in your list of search results, go to its full entry screen to capture its citation. In the example below, which shows the short entry, you would either click the title (An Introduction to the Invertebrates) or the Available at link to get to that screen. Then click the capture icon. Here's the full entry screen for this book.
Short entries are the ones that always appear in the list of search results.
GET THE FLOOR AND CALL NUMBER LOCATIONS
You have the citation but you will need to locate the book in the library so you can check it out. Copy and paste the floor location and call number (underlined in green above) into the citation details in Zotero.
TIP FOR ONLINE BOOKS IN ZOTERO
- IMPORTANT -
For best results, capture the citation on the full entry screen in OneSearch BEFORE you click through to the online book!
If you click the capture icon after you've clicked through to the online book, sometimes all you will get is a snapshot and citation details that you will have to correct.
ONLINE BOOKS
- CITATION ONLY IN ZOTERO -
When you find an online book you like in your list of search results, go to its full entry screen to capture its citation. In the example below which shows the short entry, you would either click the title (Tyrannosaurid Paleobiology) or the Available online link to get to that screen. Then click the capture icon. Here's the full entry screen for this book.
Short entries are the ones that always appear in the list of search results.
GET THE PERMALINK
The full entry screen has one more thing you'll need to add to the citation details in Zotero--a permalink. The permalink will always take you to the full entry screen which has the special CSUSB link that lets you access the online book.
In the top toolbar of the full entry screen, click on the Permalink icon shown below.
Next, click on Copy the Permalink to Clipboard shown below.
In Zotero, go to the citation details for the online book and click on Notes (highlighted in white below) in the toolbar shown below.
This opens up the Notes editing window and toolbar. Click on the insert link icon (underlined in green below).
Paste the permalink you copied into the note. Now you can always get back to the full entry screen for the book you need.
