Citation tools (also known as citation managers) are specially designed databases to store and use both citation metadata (author, publication, title, date, etc.) and the resources they describe. If you are working on a seminar paper, a journal, or other large writing project, using a citation tool can help to streamline your research and writing process. Some citation tools also help you start to automatically build footnotes (though these should always be checked and edited before submission).
Wikipedia maintains a large list that compares various citation managers, but we recommend using Zotero as being the best for legal research, writing, and Bluebook citation. Descriptions and other resources are available in the tabs at the left.
Updated 03/2022 (content and links - jas)
Updated 08/2023 (content and links - jas)
Updated 06/2024 (jas)
