Home
> Welcome
> Yale + Overleaf
> Important links
> Guide table of contents

LaTeX Bibliography Resources
> General bibliography management
> Additional software
> Back up your library

Bibliography Packages
> BibTeX
> natbib
> Biblatex + biber
> How to switch between in a desktop tool on the backend

Citation Styles in LaTeX
> Finding your citation style
> Importing from databases

Zotero and LaTeX
> Why Zotero?
> Better BibTeX Settings and Auto-Export
> Better BibTeX: Using Quick Copy

Troubleshooting
> General protocols
> Known issue with csquotes

Workshops
> Workshop materials in Overleaf
> Workshop descriptions & link to library calendar

Yale Library has been offering BibTeX workshops and consultations since the early 2010s, both in conjunction with statistical support from the library and as part of citation management support that librarians offer. This guide provides resources and information for anyone writing in LaTeX related to building your bibliography.

Throughout this guide, you will see the term citation key. This is a unique identifier for every citation. You can customize it to look like what you want, but you will call it within the document using \cite{key}, \citep{key}, \parencite{key}, and so on, depending on which packages you are using to cite. In practice, it can look like \citep{rockelSystematicReviewMembrane2012}. This takes the first author's last name, a few words from the title, and the year — however, you are free to use the information that is most meaningful to you about a citation. You can see examples of how these citation keys are referenced within a document on the Workshop Notes page.

In a bib entry, a key looks like this (note: this is an auto-generated entry using Better BibTeX):

@article{rockelSystematicReviewMembrane2012,
  title = {Systematic {{Review}} of {{Membrane Components}} of {{Gram-Positive Bacteria Responsible}} as {{Pyrogens}} for {{Inducing Human Monocyte}}/{{Macrophage Cytokine Release}}},
  author = {Rockel, Christoph and Hartung, Thomas},
  year = {2012},
  month = apr,
  journal = {Frontiers in Pharmacology},
  volume = {3},
  pages = {56},
  issn = {1663-9812},
  doi = {10.3389/fphar.2012.00056},
  urldate = {2023-02-10},
  pmcid = {PMC3328207},
  pmid = {22529809},
}

Kayleigh A. Bohémier
Science and Engineering Librarian

Schedule Appointment

Jess O'Toole
Social Science Librarian

Schedule Appointment

Email us at marx.reference@yale.edu if you would prefer to ask a question over email.