Library Manager
The Library Manager is your central hub for organizing, enhancing, and managing all the references you'll use across your systematic reviews. With intelligent tools and seamless integrations with popular reference managers, it eliminates the friction between literature searching and evidence synthesis.
Whether you're importing thousands of references from database searches or building a curated collection for a specific review, the Library Manager provides the organizational infrastructure you need.
Getting References Into EvidAI
Import Methods
EvidAI supports multiple ways to build your reference library:
| Method | Best For | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Database Export | Bulk imports from searches | Upload RIS, BibTeX, or EndNote XML files |
| Direct Search | Finding specific papers | Search PubMed, OpenAlex, or other sources directly |
| DOI/PMID Lookup | Adding known papers | Enter identifiers for automatic metadata retrieval |
| Reference Manager Sync | Existing libraries | Connect Zotero for two-way synchronization |
| Manual Entry | Grey literature, reports | Create reference records manually |
Supported File Formats
| Format | Import | Export | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RIS | ✓ | ✓ | Universal format, works with most reference managers |
| BibTeX | ✓ | ✓ | Common in computer science and engineering |
| EndNote XML | ✓ | ✓ | Rich metadata support |
| PubMed XML | ✓ | ✓ | Direct export from PubMed searches |
| CSV | ✓ | ✓ | Custom column mapping available |
| Word Bibliography | — | ✓ | Generate formatted reference lists |
Organizing Your References
Folders and Collections
The Library Manager uses a flexible organizational system:
Hierarchical Folders — Create nested folder structures to organize by project, topic, or any other scheme. For example:
- 📁 Diabetes Reviews
- 📁 SGLT2 Inhibitors
- 📁 GLP-1 Agonists
- 📁 Insulin Therapy
Multiple Collection Membership — A single reference can belong to multiple collections. This is useful when a paper is relevant to multiple reviews or topics.
Smart Collections — Create dynamic collections based on saved search criteria. For example, a smart collection for "All RCTs from 2020-2024" automatically updates as you add new references.
Tags — Apply custom tags for flexible categorization that crosses folder boundaries.
Duplicate Detection
Duplicate references are a common problem when combining searches from multiple databases. EvidAI detects duplicates using multiple methods:
- DOI/PMID matching — Exact identifier matches (most reliable)
- Fuzzy title matching — Catches duplicates with slight title variations
- Author/year matching — Secondary confirmation for ambiguous cases
When duplicates are detected, you can merge them while keeping the most complete metadata from each source.
Reference Details
Each reference in your library contains comprehensive metadata that you can view and edit:
| Field Category | Included Information |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic | Title, authors, journal, year, volume, pages, DOI |
| Abstract | Full abstract text (auto-retrieved if missing) |
| Keywords | Author keywords and MeSH terms |
| Notes | Your annotations and comments |
| Attachments | PDF full-text, supplementary materials |
| Links | URLs to publisher page, PubMed, etc. |
AI-Powered Enhancement
Automatic Metadata Enrichment
The AI automatically fills in missing information by querying academic databases:
- Missing abstracts retrieved from PubMed, CrossRef, or publisher APIs
- Author affiliations added from OpenAlex or institutional databases
- Journal metrics including impact factor and quartile rankings
- Open access status identifying freely available versions
- DOI resolution for references missing persistent identifiers
Smart Suggestions
Beyond data completion, the AI provides intelligent recommendations:
Related Papers — "Based on this reference, you might also want to include these 5 highly-cited papers on the same topic."
Missing References — "Your collection doesn't include [seminal paper], which is cited by 80% of the papers you've included."
Citation Network Analysis — Visualize how your references cite each other and identify influential papers.
Zotero Integration
For researchers who already use Zotero, EvidAI offers seamless two-way synchronization.
Setting Up Zotero Sync
- Navigate to Settings > Integrations in EvidAI
- Click Connect Zotero to begin authorization
- Log in to your Zotero account and approve the connection
- Select which Zotero collections to sync
- Choose sync frequency (real-time, hourly, or manual)
What Syncs
| Content | Zotero → EvidAI | EvidAI → Zotero |
|---|---|---|
| Reference Metadata | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDFs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✓ | ✓ |
| Notes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collections | ✓ | ✓ |
Tip: Set up automatic sync to ensure your libraries stay in sync. Changes made in either system will propagate to the other within your chosen sync interval.
PDF Management
Getting PDFs
EvidAI provides multiple options for obtaining full-text PDFs:
- Direct upload — Drag and drop PDFs into the interface
- Auto-retrieval — Automatically download from open access sources
- Link to storage — Connect to your institutional repository or cloud storage
- Zotero sync — Import PDFs from your linked Zotero library
Working with PDFs
Once PDFs are in your library:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Full-text search | Search across all PDF content |
| Annotations | Highlight and annotate directly in the viewer |
| Highlight extraction | Pull highlighted text into your notes |
| Citation linking | References in PDFs link to your library |
Search and Filter
Quick Search
The search bar at the top of the Library Manager searches across all fields simultaneously — titles, authors, abstracts, full text (if indexed), tags, and notes.
Advanced Filters
For more precise results, use the filter panel:
| Filter | Options |
|---|---|
| Publication Year | Range selector (e.g., 2018-2024) |
| Study Type | RCT, Cohort, Case-control, etc. |
| Tags | Any of, All of, None of |
| Collection | Specific folder membership |
| Review Status | Not started, In progress, Completed |
| Has PDF | Yes, No |
Filters can be combined and saved as Smart Collections for reuse.
Collaboration (Enterprise)
For teams working on collaborative reviews, the Library Manager supports shared libraries:
- Shared Collections — Create collections that multiple team members can access
- Permission Controls — Set view/edit permissions at the collection level
- Activity Tracking — See who added, modified, or annotated references
- Conflict Resolution — Handle simultaneous edits gracefully
Exporting to Evidence Studio
When you're ready to begin screening and extraction, send references to Evidence Studio:
- Select the references you want to include (or select all in a collection)
- Click Send to Evidence Studio
- Choose Create New Review or Add to Existing Review
- PDFs and metadata transfer automatically
- Begin your systematic review workflow
All metadata, PDFs, and notes carry over to your review, ensuring no work is duplicated.