Tools, Tips, and Ways to Stay Up-to-Date
Change your Google Scholar settings
One simple change can turn Google Scholar into what's effectively a Harvard database -- with links to the full-text of journal articles that the library can provide you, free of charge. Here's what to do:
- Look to the left of the GS screen and click on the "hamburger" (
) - Click on
. - Click on the submenu, "Library Links."
- Type Harvard into the search box and save your choice. As long as you allow cookies, the settings will keep.
Download Zotero
Zotero is a free, open-source citation management tool. Zotero make the process of collecting and organizing citations, incorporating them into your paper, and creating a bibliography or works cited page almost entirely stress-free!
- It's worth the small investment of time to learn Zotero. A good guide, produced by Harvard librarians, is available here: http://guides.library.harvard.edu/zotero.
Get the Lean Library browser extension
The Lean Library browser plugin allows you to access our subscription materials without having to go through the library portal. If it finds online content via Harvard, it will alert you to that fact.
It's a great convenience but like most things, isn't infallible. Our holdings can be complex enough to confound this very good software on occasion. You can always double-check for online access by searching titles in HOLLIS.
See our How to Use Your HarvardKey to Get Online Articles for Free page for more tricks.
Read journals on your smartphone or desktop with Browzine
BrowZine is a reader app for desktops, tablets and smartphones that enables easy browsing and reading of online journals. It also enables you to build a bookshelf of your favorite journals (with alerts!) and open the articles you want to read through your library's subscription links.
Use Perma cc so your links will never die
Don't let the good links you're collecting go bad! Perma.cc is the answer to link rot. Check out the library's Perma.cc info page for details.
LMSAI Fellows should request a Perma cc: account (which gives you additional privileges compared to the free default version by using the ask.library.harvard.edu form. Use the subject line ATTN: Ramona Crawford or Emily Bell)
Create an ORCID account
If you haven't already, take control of your author profile with an ORCID (Open Research and Contributor ID). Never be confused with another scholar; ensure that databases (and the scholars who consult them) can identify your body of work, and more.
Publishers and funding sources are increasingly requiring these IDs.
After you've created your ORCID, connect it to Harvard with Harvard ORCID Connect.
Follow the Harvard Library
- on Twitter and Facebook
- via the Harvard Library Events Calendar
