Collection-specific item fields

janbaykara · July 10, 2017

I want to use Zotero collections to mirror reading lists for my classes, but I've found it hard to order the readings arbitrarily.

I can use the Extra field in some cases, but when multiple courses all refer to the same text, Extra becomes useless.

Is it possible to create collection-specific item fields (if necessary, I'm happy to code a plugin), or else otherwise arbitrarily order items in a collection?

adamsmith · July 10, 2017

nothing reasonably easy, no. Since custom fields aren't currently possible, a plugin would be rather complex (i.e. it'd need to store the field info somewhere else, retrieve that and the sort by it...).

A typical structure would be to have every week of reading in a subcollection -- why does that not work? Is the order within a given week important, too?

bwiernik · July 10, 2017

You could do each course as a separate group library, that way each class could have its own copy of the item. This would also facilitate sharing the group with students to distribute readings.

janbaykara · July 10, 2017

The order within a given week is very important, yes! This is the crux of the problem, after inevitably arriving at the per-week collection solution.

bwiernik · July 10, 2017

I think course group libraries might be your best option. Then have either collections or use a Field (like Library Catalog) to denote the week, then Use Extra or Call Number to denote the order within week.

janbaykara · 2025-12-24T21:10:10+00:00

8 years later, I have solved this problem for myself:

Zotero Syllabus helps you arrange collections of items into structured reading lists (as in university modules).

Would be glad to receive feedback, ideas and pull requests over on GitHub.

Forum thread here: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/128688/zotero-syllabus-a-plugin-for-managing-your-uni-course-reading-lists?new=1

janbaykara · 2025-12-24T21:10:36+00:00

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