Archive for May, 2009

There is still time to apply for the summer Zotero trainers workshop. Applications are due June 2nd, one week from today. See the full workshop announcement below.

We are now accepting applications for the second Zotero trainers workshop, to be held July 30-31st at Emory University in Atlanta. At this info-packed and fun-filled two-day event, participants will acquire a solid understanding of Zotero’s capabilities and how those capabilities can best meet their users’ needs. Beyond acquiring a detailed understanding of the program, participants will learn: best-practices for demo-ing and supporting Zotero at their institution; approaches for developing institution-specific documentation; and steps for migrating user data to and from other research management tools.

The first workshop was held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and drew a diverse group of public and university librarians, faculty members, and educational technologists. Participants hailed from institutions as far away as Seattle and backgrounds as diverse as law and the humanities.

“For anyone considering working with Zotero – a game-changer, in my opinion – this workshop is essential. I not only expanded my knowledge of how Zotero works, but now I’m also able to teach our member libraries how, when, and why Zotero is an invaluable research management tool for the communities they serve.”- Jason Kucsma, Emerging Technologies Manager, Metropolitan New York Library Council

Whether or not you can attend the workshop, consider joining the “Zotero evangelist” Google group, which sustains an ongoing conversation between workshop participants and other Zotero trainers.

The cost to attend the workshop is $350, and due to the hands-on nature of these workshops, enrollment is limited. The Zotero team will be accepting applications through June 2nd and applications will be considered according to the following criteria:

1. Your current or future role in representing Zotero on your campus

2. Your institution’s plans for, or interest in, adopting Zotero

3. Maximum representation of different campuses: we will most likely only accept one or two individuals from any single institution and are seeking representation from a range of schools.

Application details and forms are located here, and applicants will receive confirmation of their acceptance by June 10th, 2009.

Applicants not accepted to this workshop will be welcome to apply to the next one, planned for fall 2009 at the University of Washington in Seattle. More information regarding this and later workshops will be released as available.

While diligently plugging away at refining Zotero’s syncing features, Team Z found itself adding such a massive amount of new functionality that the software required nothing less than a whole new version number. Also, Firefox was doing it. Most important among the new features is the long-anticipated ability to collaborate in groups and group libraries.

Interact With Groups Through the Firefox Add-On

Groups provide a powerful way to share collections with a class, work closely with a colleague on a project, keep track of conversations in your field more broadly, and keep tabs on what people at your institution or in your department are working on. To copy items into any of your groups just drag and drop items from your library into any of your group libraries and subcollections. Below you can see an image of your groups inside Zotero.

Interact With Groups Through the Website

Every group also has its own web page. For public groups, this page acts as a public portal for the group’s collaborative work. For private groups, the page offers a way for group members to interact with the group’s collections from anywhere.

Zotero 2.0’s group abilities transform an already powerful personal research tool into a collaborative platform for research. As we refine this beta release, the Zotero team will roll out its recommendation engine, a storage solution for sharing attached files, more ways to navigate through collections online, and the ability to view feeds from public groups and libraries. Download Zotero 2.0 today!