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Zotero

Zotero Groups

Zotero's Groups feature allows you to share references with other Zotero users online. It's a great way to work on collaborative research projects. Groups may be public (searchable, and anyone can join) or private (users can only join if invited).

First, set up Zotero sync and synchronize your library.

Next log in to the zotero.org website to create or join a group.

You now have two sections in your Zotero collections pane: My Library and Group Libraries.

Personal and group libraries are entirely separate, and changes made to items in one library do not affect the other. You can drag items back and forth libraries to copy items.

Zotero Group Libraries Screenshot

Zotero Group Types

Zotero groups can be private, public (with closed membership) or public (with open membership).

Private groups:

  • Visible only to invited group members (regardless of whether they have accepted the invitation)
  • Hidden from group searches on the Zotero website
  • Not shown on members' public profile pages
  • Not included in search engine results

Public groups with closed membership:

  • Visible to anyone via the Zotero website
  • Only invited users can join the group
  • Any Zotero user can request an invitation; it's up to the group's owner(s) and/or administrator(s) to issue one
  • Administrators can choose to show or hide the entire group library or individual collections from non-members
  • Entire group library may be made private, in which case the group will have a public information page but the library will remain hidden

Public groups with open membership:

  • Visible to anyone via the Zotero website
  • Any Zotero user can join without requesting an invitation
  • Administrators can choose to show or hide the entire library or individual collections from non-members
  • Entire group library may be made private, in which case the group will have a public information page but the library will remain hidden

Acknowledgment

Content on this page was borrowed from Zotero by Jason Puckett, licensed by Georgia State University Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License, and from Zotero by the University of Michigan Library, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.