Adding new items to your Mendeley Library

You can add new references in 4 ways:

1. Manually add

• Dragging and dropping -- drag and drop a PDF file, or a folder of PDF files, directly into Mendeley Reference Manager or Mendeley Web. Mendeley will create a library entry for each PDF and extract reference details e.g. title, author. Ensure that you check the accuracy of these automatically generated citations.
   
• Clicking the '+Add New' button -- select files from your computer; enter a reference manually; retrieve references using a DOI or PubMed ID (PMID); or import a library of citations from e.g. Ovid or another reference manager. See below for more details on the latter.

2. Importing references from literature searching databases

After searching for literature in a database such as Ovid Medline, you can export your search results and add them to your Mendeley library. 

1. Export your database search results in the RIS (.ris) file format. Note: When exporting from Ovid, select 'Fields' > 'Complete Reference'.
2. In your Mendeley library, click the '+Add New' button and select 'Import library' to browse your device. 
3. Select the RIS file that you exported from the database and click 'Open' to add the library items to your Mendeley library. 

For more information about exporting from databases, see our 1-page guide.

3. Importing a library from another reference manager

Mendeley can import libraries in these file types: RIS (.ris), BibTeX (.bib), and EndNote XML (.xml). When exporting from another reference manager -- such as EndNote or Zotero -- select one of these three file types to ensure that the library will be compatible with Mendeley.

1. In your Mendeley library, click on the '+Add New' button and select 'Import library' to browse your device. 
2. Select the library file exported from the other reference manager and click 'Open' to add the library items to your Mendeley library. 

Note: PDFs files are not included in this process. You will need to add the PDFs to Mendeley separately.

4. Mendeley web importer

Import papers, web pages and other documents directly from search engines into your library. The Mendeley Web Importer plugin is available for all major web browsers.

1. Launch the web importer on your browser

• Click on the  in your browser toolbar to launch the Mendeley Web Importer window.
• Alternatively, press the keyboard shortcut (Windows-Shift-S on Windows, Cmd-Shift-S on Mac).

2. Sign in

• Use your existing Mendeley (Elsevier) credentials to sign in.
• NB: If you haven't used Mendeley before, you'll be asked to create an account.

3. Select references to import

• When browsing online, Mendeley Web Importer will display references that it can import from the web page you are viewing.
• Available open access or subscribed full texts are indicated by a red PDF indicator.

4. Add to Mendeley Library

• Click "Add to Mendeley" and the reference is added to your library!
• NB: You may optionally specify to save to a collection or a Mendeley group at the time of saving

Further instructions, information, and support can be located on the Mendeley website.

PDFs and other files can be attached to citations within the Mendeley library. 

Adding a PDF to create a reference.

In the desktop Mendeley, PDFs can be added to create citations. Click Add File from the File tab to add a single PDF or click add folder to add a folde rof multiple PDFs. Mendeley will take the PDFs and create citations from the PDF file.

PDFs can be added to Mendeley by dragging the file to the Mendeley desktop window. It will then create a citation based on the information from the PDF. You can also add a folder of PDFs to create multiple citations by dragging the folder into the Mendeley desktop window.

Adding a PDF to an existing reference

Files, including PDFs can be added to references. Click on the reference and click (+) next to the Files section, then add the PDF file to the referencing.

Manging References

Mendeley automatically sorts added and imported references into the following categories: 

Recently Added - Displays the references added to your library in the last 30 days.

Recently Read - Displays the references for PDFs opened in the last 30 days.

Favorites - ‘Star’ a reference to automatically add it to your ‘Favorites’ collection.

My Publications - This collection displays the publications that you have authored and claimed through the Scopus Author Profile.

Trash - Displays the references that you have deleted from your library.

Manual Organisation

In Mendeley, citation records can be manually organised into collections by clicking New Collection under the Collections tab on the left side of the screen. 

Type the name for your collection file and tap enter to create. 

Once the collection file is created, drag added or imported citations into the file.

Tags

Citation records can be marked with tags. These can be created in the Tag tab for each citation. A citation record can have multiple tags. The tags can be searched for in the search bar at the bottom left corner of the screen. Be careful when creating tags, they are case sensitive. 

Setting up a Group

To share a library in Mendeley, a group needs to be created.

1. Click New Group and type in a name.

2. Once the group has been created, members can be invited to join.

3.Enter the email addresses on a separate line in the box and click send invites.

4. Once a person has accepted the invite, they are part of the group and can access references.

Sharing References

To share references,

1. Select reference and then organise at the bottom of the screen.

2. There are three options, add to collection, add to group and remove from collection.

3. Select add to group and the references will then available to everyone in the group.

Collections can also be created within groups. To create a collection in a group,

1.Click the three dots next to the group.

2.Click new collection and enter the collection name.

3. To add references to a group collection select the references, then click organise.

4. Click add to group, the group will also include the group's collections underneath.

5. Select the collection to add the references to and click add.

Mendeley Cite

The Mendeley Cite Plugin allows you to cite and reference materials in your Mendeley library. You can cite as you write and update your bibliography at the same time. This plugin is compatible with Microsoft Word or Libre Office on Windows or Mac.

!! NOTE: This plugin is currently not available on Monash Health devices due to IT restrictions. You would have to have to have Mendeley installed on a personal device to utilise this feature. 

How to Use:

You will need to have installed the Mendeley Reference Manager before you can install the Mendeley Citation Plugin. Installing the Mendeley Cite plugin will add a "Mendeley" tab under the references tab in the top toolbar of Microsoft Word.

To install on your personal device:

1. Ensure your word processor is closed before attempting to install the plugin.
2. Open Mendeley Desktop
3. Open the Tools Menu and select the appropriate option.
4. The citation tool installs very quickly and will confirm once it finishes

Once installed, look for the 'Mendeley Cite' button under the References tab in Word. Click on the icon to begin inserting in-text citations and references.

To add citations to a document:

1. Place cursor where you would like to add the citation.
2. Select the library or collection the desired reference or search for the citation using the search bar.
3. Tick the box next to the desired reference you would like to cite in the Mendeley Cite sidebar.
4. Click insert citation at the bottom of the Mendeley Cite sidebar

To add a reference list or bibliography:

1. Place cursor where you like to add the reference list or bibliography
2. Click the three dots at the top of the Mendeley Cite sidebar.
3. Click the top option from the drop down box "Insert Bibliography"
4. Then click continue.
5. The reference list or bibliography will appear in the selected citation style

Additional Cite options:

The tab opens on the right hand side of the document and contains the following options:

References A list of references from your Mendeley library. A search bar to search for references A filter bar to select different libraries and collections Citation Settings Citation Style - the current citation style listed and a button to change citation style Citation Language - the current language and a button to change citation language Preview Box - provides an example of the citation style and language for both in text citation and referencing

More information on Mendeley Cite here

Monash Health Library provides educational resources, group training, webinars and individual consultations on evidence based practice including guidance on literature searching, appraising and managing search results.

Can’t attend our live webinars?

• The library has a selection of recorded webinars available in Latte.
• Consider requesting group training for your team at a time that suits you. 

Custom training sessions can be arranged to fit with a team meeting or existing professional development schedule. Email library@monashhealth.org for more information.