We are delighted to announce that the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Centers Program in the Division of Engineering Education and Centers has hired the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) to provide a customized interface for NSF’s internal use. NSF had already been using Zotero for some time, and based on positive experience with the software, NSF contracted with CHNM to extend Zotero to meet the organization’s needs more fully.

This contract reflects Zotero’s growing role as a critical element in the cyberinfrastructure that sustains scholarly research in general and the sciences in particular. Because NSF has requested a new, custom item type, this project will mark Zotero’s first major step in the direction of user-defined and shareable item types. Other areas of improvement expected ultimately to benefit the broader Zotero community include significant enhancements to saved search functionality.

Anyone with a feed reader can now follow public Zotero libraries simply by clicking the feed icon at the right-hand side of the browser address bar. Feeds are generated at the library and collection level, and for group libraries as well as individual libraries.

This feature provides a great way for people both inside and outside the Zotero community to keep track of the latest and greatest additions to libraries and collections, and it will work with any browser and feed reader.

Zotero users may not realize it, but the project is spearheaded by George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media (CHNM). For years, Zotero users have asked how they can help out, and many have contributed to the project by writing code, translating its interface, or promoting the software on their campuses and in their workplaces. Others have asked if they could make monetary contributions to support this free and open source effort.

Donate to CHNM in June and your contribution will be matched twice over. Thanks to a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Center for History and New Media has the rare opportunity to build a $3 million endowment to support infrastructure expenses and ongoing development across its many projects. We’re delighted to announce that now your contribution to the Center for History and New Media will be matched for a limited time. If you give within the month of June your donation will be stretched even further since an anonymous donor has agreed to double the National Endowment for the Humanities matching funds. Please consider making your tax-deductible contribution right now by using our easy online donation form.

Thanks in advance for your support of Zotero and CHNM!

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.