Mendeley Desktop (for Mac)

Whether you are looking to build a repository for a major research project or simply hoping to organize journal articles, Mendeley (Free) offers an elegant solution to document management. With 1GB of free cloud-based storage (upgradable to two for $5 per month, 5GB for $10, or unlimited for $15), cross-platform compatibility, and iOS apps, you will always have access to your Mendeley library, but, thanks to web browser and Microsoft Word plugins, you will not feel tethered to it. Mendeley pairs nicely with browser-based research manager Zotero 3. Now entering its seventh year of development, Zotero handles documents with greater ?lan; however, many scholars, educators, and students?especially those in the sciences?may find they prefer Mendeley for its collaboration options.

Accommodating Research
After I finished reviewing Zotero, I committed myself to the browser-based research assistant. It was a big step for me. I upgraded my account from the standard storage (a paltry 300 megabytes) to a premium plan (two-gigabytes for $20 annually), and even made Firefox (free, 4 stars) my default web browser. It all happened so fast. Needless to say, when I heard about Mendeley, I was curious, but skeptical. Certainly, I had heard good things about its academic social network, but would I have to start over? And, if not, how much trouble would it be to integrate Mendeley into my workflow?

Mendeley makes promiscuous research awfully enticing. In fact, I was prompted to sync my Zotero library upon launching the application. The word sync, not import, is a crucial distinction: Because Mendeley synchronizes with my Zotero, I can add books and articles to Zotero and they automatically appear in Mendeley. (the inverse, however, is not true). Mendeley can also watch a folder for new documents (e.g. a Downloads folder).

Although Mendeley was quick to recognize all of the files in my 350-megabyte Zotero library, synchronization with Mendeley?s cloud-based storage was another story. It took three attempts to complete synchronization. This would be less of an issue if synchronization did not prevent sharing or accessing shared folders. Instead, my testing was put on hold until I had synchronized my entire library with Mendeley?s cloud. Fortunately, the cloud is voluminous for a free service: A gigabyte of online storage goes a long way with PDFs and Word documents.

Local, Public, and Private Folders
Mendeley reproduced my Zotero folder hierarchy. I added folders within folders to see if the software would scale to the demands of a larger research project. While the applications lags more than it ought to (I test on a two-year-old MacBook Pro), I have no complaints about the elegant user interface. Adding new documents is as simple as dragging onto folders. Mendeley captures metadata from PDFs and accepts notes, tags, and keywords?all searchable.

Mendeley offers two kinds of groups: public (ideal for reading lists) and private (perfect for sharing sources, references, or drafts of living projects). For free, Mendeley allows one of each?otherwise you need what Mendeley calls a ?Team Plan? ($49 per month). This may sound stingy, but do not forget the voluminous online storage (a gigabyte) and baroque folder hierarchies. Because public groups only support metadata, they use next to no storage. Collaborators can still proffer sources and add notes. Given the public availability, perhaps I will solicit other feedback in the future. Unfortunately, for those in the humanities, Mendeley is a science-centric ecosystem. (A search for ?American literature? produced one direct match, ?Early American Literature,? with just seven members and 19 papers).

I preferred private group sharing. I invited several colleagues (via email) without leaving the application. Although basic metadata is available through the Mendeley website, advanced features, such as previewing and annotating documents, requires Mendeley Desktop. Although my collaborators complained about having to install a dedicated application, they quickly praised the tabbed interface, through which they could mark up multiple documents in the same window. All edits automatically save to the local library; however, we quickly learned that you must manually click the ?Sync? button for changes to take effect.

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