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TwitterTidbit #1 – Revolutionize Your Writing with Zotero

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Welcome to the first of the Humanities and Social Studies Library’s TwitterTidbits, where we scour through #AcademicTwitter, so you don’t have to!

Today’s Twitter piece of treasure is courtesy of @MushtaqBilalPhD, who believes that Zotero’s in-built Note Editor can “Revolutionize” your writing. And well, we agree. 

Often cited by the HSSL family as a fantastic tool for student research and writing, Zotero is a free and open-source software designed to organize your research, create automatic bibliographies, insert citations and footnotes to your assignments and just overall make the writing process much easier. 

To get started, go to www.zotero.org and download the software (you can also download their IOS app if you’re someone who prefers to work on their iPad).

Zotero's home page. A webpage with a dark blue/grey background with multiple neon outlined icons floating around. At the centre of the page a caption that reads "Your personal research assistant". Below the caption is a red button saying "Download". A red arrow and circle is used to annotate the image and highlight the Download button.
Zotero home page after pressing the Download button on the previous page. Two light grey panels alongside each other. The panel to the left reads "Zotero 6 for Mac", with a light blue Download button below. The panel to the right reads "Zotero Connector" and describes the need for downloading a connector to save materials from you browser directly into Zotero.

Once you are done setting up Zotero on your device, you can use the software directly within Microsoft Word, in your browser or through its own app. 

For reaping the full benefits of the Note Editor, we recommend using the Zotero app on your desktop. 

MacBook Launchpad. A grid of different app icons on a low transparency blue, pink and orange background. At the bottom left corner a cross-sectional 3D grey logo with a bold red Z (the Zotero logo), highlighted using neon blue annotations.

To begin, add the document you would like to work on (preferably as a PDF file) to your Zotero library. You can either drag and drop your file directly into the library space or use the wand icon above the library space to enter the DOI or ISBN of your document. 

Home Page of the Zotero Library App. At the centre of the page is a welcome message with links to the Quick Start Guide and Zotero Connector. A panel on top of the page shows five small icons. The second icon (magic wand with plus sign in green) is annotated with a red circle. A box below the icon reads "Enter ISBNS, DOIs, etc".

Once your document has been added, double-click on it and Zotero will open it for you in a new window. 

My Library in Zotero App. In the library space, there is a dark blue line (denoting that the file has been selected) that shows the title and creator of the file. A red arrow points to the file, while to the right of the page (in a panel divide by a line) there is the Information about the file.

On top of the Annotation pane are the different tools for annotating the document: including highlight text, notes, and selection. In the top right corner of the window, you will find a small Notes button.

Separate window with PDF file opened in Zotero Library. Most of the window is covered by the text in the PDF file. A thin panel over the top page on the PDF shows four icons, each a different tool for annotation. On the top right corner of the window (on the same thin panel) are icons for the Notes feature.

Click on the Notes button and select ‘Add Item Note’ after pressing the + icon in the Notes panel. You will now be shown a toolbar with six different tools for note-taking. These are: 

1. Format text

2. Highlight text

3. Clear formatting

4. Insert Link

5. Insert Citation

6. Find and Replace

Separate window with PDF file opened in Zotero Library. Most of the window is covered by the text in the PDF file. To the top right is a box reading "Add Item Note" in dark blue, indicating that it has been selected.
Separate window with PDF file opened in Zotero Library. Most of the window is covered by the text in the PDF file. To the right of the text, is a white panel with a toolbar showcasing six different tools for note taking.

You are now all set to explore the Note Editor in Zotero for yourself! Some exciting features we think you should check out are the in-text citation feature and the drafting feature, which will allow you to use your notes to begin drafting your own paper in Microsoft Word.

Separate window with PDF file opened in Zotero Library. Most of the window is covered by the text in the PDF file. Panel to the right reads "YOU GOT THIS!!" in bold and pink highlighted text.

If you’re interested in learning more about Zotero but don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered! 

Check out our Introduction to Zotero page for a lineup of virtual workshops spread over the semester. But suppose you want to learn on your own time. In that case, you can watch the McGill Library’s entire Zotero Video Tutorials playlist to get familiar with the software in just around 20 minutes.

Till then, keep an eye out for the next TwitterTibdit!

Black History Month 2023: Virtual Display

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February is just around the corner, and with it comes the annual celebration of Black History Month (BHM). The month marks a time of honouring the legacy and stories of Black Canadians and their communities around the nation. 

The McGill community takes this opportunity to engage in not just celebrations, but moments of acknowledgement and introspection on what it means to be part of a diverse community by coming together in love, support, and learning. 
In anticipation of BHM, the Humanities and Social Studies Library (HSSL) has curated a virtual display, bringing from deep within our collections, titles both old and new, literary masterpieces, and contemporary podcasts. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the titles on display:

Book cover for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

BHM would be incomplete without an ode to Angelou’s best-selling debut memoir of growing up black in the 1930s and 1940s.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man — and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, and the ideas of great authors will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

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Book cover for Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

From award-winning, bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five comes a powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated.

With spellbinding lyricism, they tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both. A young artist and poet’s prospects at a diverse art school are threatened by a racially biased system and a tragic altercation in a gentrifying neighbourhood.

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Book cover for Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Few hold a place in the Black feminist canon like Lorde, a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” who “dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.”

In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. 

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Other notable mentions include Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, a 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son; Nathan Harris’ The Sweetness of Water an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances, and; Octavia Butler’s Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, which offers an unflinching look at our complicated social history, transformed by the graphic novel format into a visually stunning work for a generation of new readers.

Keep an eye on our socials (Instagram: @mcgilllib, Facebook: McGill Library and Twitter: @mcgilllib) for more exciting events and news related to BHM. 

Impactful Reads: What is McGill Reading?

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It’s that time of the semester again, Add/Drop’s just ended, and the assignments are already piling up in the calendar feature on MyCourses. So we’re all a little rushed, a little tired and a lot cold (it’s freezing outside!).

Alas, we’re afraid there’s not much we can do to decrease your workload or increase the temperature, but we’re hoping this little treat just might help boost your mood!

So for all those long metro and shuttle rides, the breaks between classes, or those few days you’ve accidentally slept in during a morning conference, here are some inspiring titles being read by your fellow students (courtesy of this r/mcgill Reddit™ thread):

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To access the titles you wish to read, simply click on the relevant book cover and you’ll be taken directly to the library catalogue, so you can check out the book.

InterLibrary Loan

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Do any titles catch your eye that aren’t in our collection? Worry not, because McGill students and faculty are allowed to borrow books or articles located in other Quebec university libraries and beyond through the InterLibrary Loan Service (ILL). The ILL is integrated into the Library catalogue and can help you access titles that aren’t available in our collection by searching libraries worldwide. Simply select “Libraries Worldwide” on the panel to the left which lists all the options to help you filter your search. For more information on how to use the ILL system, follow up on our services page here: https://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/otherloans/interlibrary.

With such progressions, the bookkeeping world is getting smaller and flatter and we can’t say we mind it even a tiny bit!

Libby: The Overdrive App

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Are you someone who prefers listening to books rather than reading? Perhaps you like staring out of the shuttle window as you see the snowy trees zoom past, pretending you’re in the middle of an adventure, a tragic love story or an intense breakdown of the stock market. Well, we’ve got a little something for you as well.

Check out our blog on Libby: The Overdrive App and discover our collection of audiobooks and ebooks directly from your phones/tablets! Along with an amazing user-friendly interface, the app keeps all your favourite titles a swipe away, making it the perfect personal library for students.

If you have any questions or general queries you may reach us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca

Well, that’s all for now, folks,

Happy Reading!