George Mason University has launched a preview of Zotero, a free, Web-based program designed to store and organize a wealth of reference data that developers hope will streamline digital research.
GMU released the initial, or “beta,” version of Zotero last week with plans of a full release by the end of the year.
In its current form, the program, which works within the popular browser Mozilla Firefox, can gather citations and text of articles from a variety of Web sites, said Daniel Cohen, an assistant professor at GMU and director of research projects at the school’s Center for History and New Media.
The center’s grant-funded project is expected to cost about $1 million, and eventually include a broader base of online resources, more citation styles and possible integration with other free online programs — like Google Maps, Cohen said. A large part of the project is paid for through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
“Zotero is doing everything but writing your paper for you,” he said.
The program is based off a number of pre-existing citation tools, he said, but is the first to integrate the features directly into a Web browser. The interface, according to Cohen, borrows from the popular computer music program; developers are calling it an “iTunes for your references.”
The beta version of Zotero is available at www.zotero.org
