Getting Started With EndNote

Creating an EndNote Library

When you open EndNote, you will be immediately prompted to create a library (your EndNote database). You can create as many libraries as you wish, or just use one library for all of your research.

The next thing you will wish to do is to import citations, called references, into your EndNote library. Each reference represents a specific article, book chapter, conference paper, thesis, book, etc. that you use for your research. Each reference is composed of specific fields, such as author, title, source, or pages, which are used to create your footnotes or bibliographies. EndNote also provides additional fields in each reference to help you to organize or manage your EndNote library.

Importing References Into EndNote

There are several ways you can enter references into your EndNote library: a) using direct export, b) using an import filter, c) direct searching using connection files, and d) typing in references manually.

Using Direct Export
The easiest way to download citations into your EndNote Library is using direct export. Direct export allows you to automatically move references into your EndNote library with just a few clicks.

Using an Import Filter
If a database does not have an export feature available, you may be able to save your references as a text file (.txt) and then import them into your database using an import filter. The filter tells EndNote exactly how to interpret information in records downloaded or saved from a Library database. EndNote comes installed with import filters for most major library databases. It is extremely important that you select the correct import filter for the database you are using and that you are usng the most current filter available.

Using Connection Files
Connection files allow you to search and retrieve citations from a Library database directly by connecting through EndNote's custom search interface. Currently, the only way to import records from the University of Chicago Library Catalog is using a connection file. EndNote comes installed with connection files for most major library catalogs. However, it is extremely important that you are using the most current filter available. The most recent connection file for the University of Chicago Library Catalog is posted on our website.

While connection files are a convenient way to search for known references, we do not generally recommend their use for other Library databases. First, the "native" interfaces of most Library databases provide many search options which are not available when using connection files. As a result, you may obtain significantly different (and often more accurate) search results if you use a native interface and then import the references into EndNote. Secondly, connection files will not work off-campus with the proxy server.

Typing References In Manually
If you find a citation in a book or other print source, you may also add references into your EndNote library manually. While effective, this is not the easiest way to populate your EndNote library with references. It is very important that you select the correct reference type (article, book, etc.) for the reference you are entering, or they may not display correctly in your bibliographies or footnotes.

Using EndNote with Library Databases

To help you select the best way to import references into your EndNote Library, the University of Chicago Library provides step-by-step instructions on how to export references into EndNote from most of our major databases.