Multiple Libraries for Individuals?

kbmlglaw
First I'd like to say how much I *LOVE* Zotero, and am sure that I have not begun to tap it's applicability. (Sort of like even "experts" of Excel, only really know about 10% of it and it's a different 10% depending on the expert)

I have a question about whether or not an individual can have multiple libraries (without utilizing the "create group library" function, which I've used to do this). I get the wonders of collections (and my, oh my, how I love them and the ability for a single document to exist in so MANY different places for ease of re-discovering for my ADD brain).

BUT, I do have different areas of my life for which I'd like to create a library - and have them be distinct libraries. For example, my original "library" is exactly what this tool is intended for and is a collection of original sources and notes relating to each of these sources.

But with the awesome tagging features and collection sorting / organizing features, I'd like to use this to index other information I gather, or other notes that I take regarding particular projects. Essentially, I want a separate library for my "notes" and indexing of my documents (and I have created one using the group library). Essentially, I want to separate out "primary sources" in one library, and my own work product in a second library. Plus, those are all for my professional area, and I'd like to use Zotero to curate collections for my own personal non-work, as well.

Again, I've improvised this by creating a second Group library, but thought I'd add this option as a suggestion if the ability doesn't already exist. Thank you.
  • adamsmith
    Groups are the only reasonable way to do this.

    There is an option to have multiple profiles, but it's a hassle to set up and even more of a hassle to use in everyday usage (people use that for developing & teaching Zotero)
  • bwiernik
    Don’t get too concerned about the “groups” name. I have many group libraries for which I am the only member that I use for things like personal life items, versions of my own publications with annotations for my CV, or other use cases that are specific to me and not any collaborators
  • aborel
    I for one would just use collections. I dislike the duplication of data that often happens with multiple libraries (personal or group-related).
  • tim820
    Indeed 'nearly' the same separation as different libraries can be achieved with top-level collections. For example, at its simplest ... Professional and Private. When working under one top-level collection hierarchy, the other hierarchy can be collapsed and thus not seen. You could also for example use stored PDFs in one collection and linked PDFs in the other (which you can't do with Groups).

    A complication does come with having only a common tag system. Although tags could be prefixed to keep tags mostly separate if really necessary, eg Pro_tag1, Prv_tag2. Advanced searches are readily limited to those under one top-level collection or the other (using 'Collection is' and selecting 'Search subcollections'). Saved search names for each collection could also be prefixed to group them as a block in that section.
  • erazlogo
    edited today at 11:06am
    The new advanced search (currently in Zotero beta) makes it seamless to search across two or more collections.

    I use tags and saved searches to separate my sources into projects. This makes errors less likely to happen than with manual collections.
  • kbmlglaw
    Wow! Thanks for all of the feedback. I hear some different perspectives about what works for different individuals, and it sounds like I've landed on what makes sense for me. One of the things I like about Zotero is it's "g-mail" like ability to organize a single item into different folders, PLUS tags to provide further ways to index information. With my ADD, it is useful, though, sometimes to look at everything in a single bucket, too. So that's why I like having different buckets for my primary sources versus my own work product and project notes. I respect those who can organize it all within one library, but appreciate the opportunity to have some division for myself. Thanks, everyone!
Sign In or Register to comment.