Mendeley

Mendeley Reference Manager is the latest version of Elsevier's reference manager. It is a free reference management tool that can be used to: 

• store all your references in one location 
• insert citations in Word using Mendeley Cite 
• automatically sync your library between multiple devices 
• organise your thoughts, PDF annotations and highlights using the built-in notebook 
• collaborate and share in real-time 
• participate in the Mendeley academic social network. 

ACU staff and students have access to Mendeley Institutional Edition. This entitles users to additional storage. See Mendeley Institutional Edition (below) for more information.

Library staff at ACU provide limited help for Mendeley users. For additional support, please search the Mendeley Help Guides.

Which reference management tool is best for me?

Table last updated September 2023. 

Mendeley Reference Manager consists of three integrated applications:

• Mendeley Reference Manager — install on your desktop or use as a web application. 
• Mendeley Cite — add-in for Microsoft Word. 
• Mendeley Web Importer — adding this extension to your browser enables you to easily build your library of references as you search online. 

Mendeley Reference Manager, Mendeley Cite, and Mendeley Web Importer can all be downloaded from the Mendeley website.

For guidance on using Mendeley, see:

• Mendeley Help Guides
• Mendeley Support Centre – for FAQs and news
• Mendeley Reference Manager LibGuide
• Mendeley Cite guide – for information on referencing in Microsoft Word.

ACU staff and students have access to Mendeley Institutional Edition. This entitles users to greater benefits than the free version, including:

• 100 GB personal storage (compared to 2 GB)
• 100 GB shared storage (compared to 100 MB) 
• up to 100 collaborators and 1,000 groups. 

If you are already using Mendeley, you can link your account to the ACU institutional account. Sign into your Mendeley account or create a Mendeley account using your ACU email address. Upgrade to the Institutional Edition by visiting the ACU Mendeley Group page. You should then receive an email that confirms your account has been upgraded. 

Mendeley Cite, the Microsoft Word add-in required to generate citations in Word, is currently blocked in the ACU Office 365 environment. Staff can request installation of the add-in on their work computers via Service Central. Once the add-in has been deployed by Service Central, follow these steps to display the Mendeley Cite add-in:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click 'Insert' on the menu bar, then click 'Get Add-ins'.
3. Click 'Admin Managed'.
4. Select 'Mendeley Cite' and click 'Add'. If Mendeley Cite does not appear, select 'Refresh'.
5. The Mendeley Cite button should now appear on the menu bar.

We are currently seeking a solution for students who have ACU Office 365 installed on a Mac (who also seem to be affected). Research higher degree students who cannot install the Mendeley Cite add-in can request assistance from IT via Ask ACU. Other students are advised to install Zotero or EndNote in the meantime.

Mendeley Reference Manager will replace Mendeley Desktop in the long run. As of 1 September 2022, users are no longer able to download and install Mendeley Desktop. Existing users of Mendeley Desktop will continue to be able to sign into, use, and sync their Mendeley Desktop. Longer-term, you will not be able to sign in to Mendeley Desktop. For more information on how to transition to Mendeley Reference Manager see: https://blog.mendeley.com/category/new-release-2/

Use the Mendeley Support Center.

The library provides limited Mendeley support. Contact us to see if we can help.

Guide last reviewed: 12 September 2023