EBVM Search Guide: EndNote

EndNote is a powerful software program that collects, stores and organizes references for books, journal articles, and other materials that you've collected and then automatically converts those references into a properly formatted bibliography. It is fairly easy to use, reliable, and well-documented. EndNote can:

• import references directly from many of the Tufts University libraries' databases
• create a properly-formatted bibliography that conforms to your selected output style, including APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, or any one of hundreds of other formats
• format in-text citations, endnotes, and footnotes in the documents you are writing
• serve as your own searchable reference database
• organize references into custom groups, enabling you to track your sources by topic, course, book chapters, or other criteria of your choosing

Alongside tracking literature citations, EndNote stores references to figures and tables as well as links to websites and downloaded Acrobat pdf files. It provides Unicode support for foreign languages for processing and displaying multilingual text. In addition, EndNote provides a high level of customizability, both for the EndNote interface and for your references and reports. All these features make your research and writing process more efficient.

EndNote is available as a desktop client or as EndNote Online.

The desktop client is available in both Windows and Macintosh editions. Current Tufts' students, faculty, researchers, and staff can arrange for an EndNote installation on their own personal computers by Tufts Technology Services (the installation must be removed if your Tufts affiliation ends). Tufts affiliates also can purchase institutional licenses through the Tufts On the Hub software store. Anyone can download a trial version from the EndNote website.

Note: While the Tufts Library staff provides training in, and consultation about, the general use of EndNote and compatible databases, it does not provide IT support or assistance with technical issues involving your computer, browser, or word-processing software. For assistance with such issues, contact EndNote's own technical support.

The first step in working with EndNote is to create your own EndNote library.  To do this:

1. Launch the EndNote software
2. Select File Menu > New…
3. In the resulting New Reference Library window, specify a library name (with a .enl extension) and the location for your library (the location should NOT be in the EndNote software installation folder but in a location where you normally store your working files). Then click Save.

Tips

• You can specify which EndNote libraries automatically open when you launch EndNote.  Select Edit Menu > Preferences > Libraries and choose one of the options listed in the When EndNote Starts pull-down menu.
• EndNote lets you create as many libraries as you want and their size in MB is limited only by the amount of storage space on the drive(s) where they’re stored.  The decision to create multiple EndNote libraries should be based on your research needs and methodology.  You can start with a single library and organize items into Custom Groups, which are virtual folders that can represent, for example, contents for various courses, book chapters, and/or various research projects.  If you decide later that a single library should be split into multiple libraries, EndNote makes it easy for you to do so, either by using the File Menu > Save a Copy… command or by “dragging and dropping” references among different open EndNote libraries.