Building a Mendeley Library
Mendeley makes it easy to automatically or manually enter citations from a variety of sources. This page outlines a few of the ways you can add citations to your library, whether you're using the desktop client or the Mendeley website. You can even import citations from other citation management programs like EndNote.
Importing from Databases using Web Importer
Mendeley's Web Importer automatically imports citations from a variety of academic databases, including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, JSTOR, and Google Scholar. The Web Importer can also save snapshots of web pages. To install the Web Importer and learn more, visit the Mendeley site.
Mendeley's Web Importer automatically imports citations from a variety of academic databases, including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, JSTOR, and Google Scholar. The Web Importer can also save snapshots of web pages. To install the Web Importer and learn more, visit the Mendeley site.
Export from OskiCat or Melvyl
There is no direct way to get citations from OskiCat to Mendeley.
To import a record for a single item in OskiCat, use this work-around:
- While viewing the item in OskiCat, click the UC Libraries and Beyond button on the right side, which will take you to search results in Melvyl.
- In Melvyl, click on the title of the item from the results list.
- Choose Cite/Export from the upper right
- Choose Export to EndNote / Reference Manager, which will produce a RIS file
- In Mendeley, choose File-Import-RIS and navigate to the RIS file
To import multiple citations from Melvyl:
- Register for a free account with WorldCat using the Sign in link at the top of the page
- From the Melvyl search results page, check the boxes next to the citations you want to import, and use the dropdown above to save items to a new or existing list
- View your list by going to My WorldCat and My Lists
- Open the list and click on the Citations View tab
- Select the citations you want to import
- From the Export selected references dropdown, choose to RIS
- In Mendeley, choose File-Import-RIS and navigate to the RIS file
Synchronizing PDFs and Attachments
You can attach PDFs and other types of files (like images or text documents) to your citations. These files will always be viewable in your desktop client, but you can also sync them to your online library if you would like to access your files online. Free accounts include 1 MB of storage for your files, and you can purchase additional storage space. You can choose to sync your entire library's PDFs, or select by folder within your library.
- In your desktop client, select "All Documents" and click "Edit Settings" in the main display window.
- Under "Synchronization Options," check the box next to "Synchronize attached files" to sync attachments. To sync your entire library, check the radio button next to "For my entire library."
- If you don't wish to sync your entire library, check the button next to "For selected folders" and select the folders you want to sync.
You can monitor your web space usage from the All Documents settings menu in your desktop client or online by clicking "My Account" and selecting "Account Details."
Export from a Database
If the Save to Mendeley button does not function correctly exporting from a database, use the option Export/Save Citation, saving or exporting the citation in RIS format. Depending on the database, either Direct Export-Open With-Mendeley. Or you can save the RIS file and import it into Mendeley by choosing File - Import, or you can drag the file into the Mendeley Desktop.
Import/Drag PDF
You can get citations into the Mendeley library by dragging a PDF or folder into the middle pane of the Mendeley desktop window. Mendeley will automatically attempt to extract the citation information from the PDF and the new citations will appear under the Recently Added heading.If the extracted information is incomplete or missing, the citation will end up under Needs Review.
My Library image
You can also add your existing PDF files or folders to Mendeley using the Add Files menu in the Mendeley desktop.
Adding Citations Manually
You can manually enter citations from the Mendeley website or from your desktop client.
- To manually enter a citation on the website, select the "My Library" and click the "Add Document" button.
- To manually enter a citation in the desktop client, select "File" and choose "Add Entry Manually."
To enter your citation, select the document type from the drop down list and enter the bibliographic information for your citation. You can leave fields blank if you do not have some information or if some fields are not applicable to your citation.
Exporting from Other Citation Managers
Records from other citation managers, such as RefWorks, EndNote, or Zotero can be exported into RIS, BibTeX, PDF or EndNote XML file format. Use File, then Import, to import the records into your Mendeley Library.
Get Citations from Other Mendeley Users
You can search across the libraries of other Mendeley users to discover new papers on a topic. To do this, use the Literature Search option in Mendeley Desktop:
or you can click the magnifying glass in Mendeley Web to get to a Papers search:
See these Advanced Searching Tips for searching your Library or the Mendeley catalog.
Automating Importing with Watched Folders
One of the easiest ways to enter your references into Mendeley is by using the desktop client's Watched Folder feature. Whenever you save a PDF document to your watched folders, Mendeley will automatically extract the bibliographic information and add the citation and PDF to your library. For example, set up your web browser's download folder as a watched folder to automatically import all your saved PDFs to your Mendeley library.
- In the Mendeley desktop client, select "File" and choose "Watch Folder."
- Select one or more folders on your computer and click "Apply."
- All PDF files added to the folder(s) will be automatically added to your Mendeley library. If the Mendeley desktop client is not running when you download a file, the citation will be added to your library the next time you run the desktop client. Remember, you must sync your library in order to view your updates online.
