COMMUNICATIONS
Supporting Library Research
with LibX and Zotero:
Two Open Source Firefox Extensions
Jon Ritterbush
ABSTRACT. Two open source extensions to the Firefox browser, LibX
and Zotero, can improve the research process for library staff and users.
Once configured and installed, LibX provides Firefox users with an addi-
tional browser toolbar and right-click functionality that can search a li-
brary’s catalog, OpenURL resolver or federated search engine, as well as
other Web sites. LibX also includes an autolinking feature, which embeds
searchable links within other Web sites such as Google, Amazon, or Ya-
hoo. Zotero merges the best features of other citation management pro-
grams with those of popular Web 2.0 services. Zotero users can store full
citation information and sort, tag, annotate, and search these citations
from within the Firefox browser. Zotero can also “scrape” citations from
certain Web sites, allowing users to selectively save citations into their re-
search collection. Zotero can generate complete bibliographies in MLA,
APA, and Chicago styles. The abilities to remotely store, synchronize, and
Jon Ritterbush is Reference Librarian and Coordinator of Digital Services, Regent
University Library, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464 (E-mail:
jritterbush@regent.edu).
Journal of Web Librarianship, Vol. 1(3) 2007
Available online at http://jwl.haworthpress.com
© 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1300/J502v1n03_08 111

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KEYWORDS. Browser extensions, LibX, Zotero, open source software,
linking, bibliographic management software, citations, bibliographies
Librarians looking for more reasons to embrace Mozilla Firefox as
their default Web browser should consider two helpful and free Firefox
extensions: LibX and Zotero. Both of these open source add-ons en-
hance the research process for library staff and users, and LibX can
serve as an effective marketing tool, helping libraries establish their
brand identity within the Firefox browser.
LIBX
LibX, available at http://www.libx.org, is freely distributed under the
Mozilla Public License. Once configured as a library-specific edition,
LibX provides Firefox users with an additional toolbar that can search a li-
brary’s catalog, OpenURL resolver, or federated search engine, as well as
other Web sites. The LibX extension only works within Firefox, but it is
compatible with Windows, Mac OS/X, and Linux operating systems. As of
February 2007, more than forty academic and public libraries had config-
ured live editions of LibX, and it had been downloaded 8,200 times.1
Toward the left edge of the LibX toolbar, libraries may opt to config-
ure a short list of bookmarks, which appear above LibX’s display pref-
erences (see Figure 1). LibX gives individual users the option to direct
search results to the same tab, to a new tab, or to a new window. Users
may also enable or disable LibX’s autolinking feature, which automati-
cally embeds a library’s icon with a searchable link to the library catalog
from search results within certain Web sites, such as Google, Amazon,
Yahoo, or Barnes & Noble (see Figure 2).2
The toolbar search form allows for searching a library catalog by key-
word, title, author, subject, call number, and ISBN/ISSN (see Figure 3).
At Regent University, LibX was also configured to allow users to search
112 JOURNAL OF WEB LIBRARIANSHIP