How far can you go before you have to stick with one familiar tool? This must be a common question in relation to reference management software. I used the free Zotero software for my first few EdD modules and then tried Mendeley. Working on my IFS, I am trying out Papers.

I took a look at PaperShip, which integrates with iPhone and Mac (see this post). Working with both Mendeley and Zotero, it allows easy access to either library to highlight and annotate. In reality I tend to work at my computer and so mobile apps are not really necessary. The highlighting and annotation tools in Papers work for me.

Mendeley’s free plan give you up to 2GB of storage (that would cost $20/year with Zotero). Mendeley’s paid plan starts at $55/year for 5GB, whereas Zotero’s 6GB plan costs $60/year. Papers is subscription only with unlimited storage, which starts at $3/month ($36/year) for students.

I now have so many references and documents stored in Papers, it looks like this will be my preferred reference management tool going forward. Papers has many useful features – see the full list in their website here.

I am interested to know what you use and why, and whether you are likely to stick with it.

 

Photo of the Stuttgart library by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash