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Bookends for Bibliography


Dr. Nathan Parker

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I'm going to try to use Mellel more for writing college papers, especially since I'm taking Hebrew this semester and need a word processor with better RTL support. I immersed myself in Mellel videos recently to better learn the program.

 

I see if interfaces well with Bookends for bibliographies. I've been using Zotero. Should I transition over to Bookends? Is it worth the extra investment?

 

Thanks!

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Nathan:

 

I have no experience with Bookends but I have used Zotero and if you have all your bibliography info in Zotero and are pleased with it (I was), then I wouldn't think it would be worth the expense and angst of moving your info to Bookends. Just my 2c worth.

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I used Zotero in writing a ~20k word thesis (in Word for Mac) and found it sufficient. I've also used BookEnds and can say that it offers far more customization than Zotero; it's a polished commercial app.

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Thanks for the info. Double-checking, Mellel doesn't seem to directly support Zotero, so I guess the question is how badly do I want my Bib manager integrated with the various word processors I use. :-)

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Thanks for the info. Double-checking, Mellel doesn't seem to directly support Zotero, so I guess the question is how badly do I want my Bib manager integrated with the various word processors I use. :-)

 

You can still copy and paste citations manually.

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True. I may just forgoe a Bib manager anyway and do all my citations manually. I didn't really even use the citation stuff in Zotero much either. Normally I pull up a TextEdit window and paste all my citations in, using Zotero to store links to online library articles I found. :-)

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Oh man, I couldn't live without a citation manager. Sente is my choice though Bookends is excellent. (please note I don't really mean I couldn't live...)

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Oh man, I couldn't live without a citation manager. Sente is my choice though Bookends is excellent. (please note I don't really mean I couldn't live...)

 

Does Sente interface well with Mellel? How much does it cost?

For a smaller term paper or the likes, you might not need a citation manager software. You will of course need to keep track of the resources that you consult and engage (as any good researcher must), whether you take the older index card approach or using a software program manager like Bookends or Sente. I wrote many papers in college with the index method, as I read and learned much from (now) Booth, Colomb, Williams. I later digitized all my index cards and notes into a software manager. At first, I used Bookends with Mellel. I worked from these two software programs for years. My latest writing project was about 150 pages. I used Mellel and Sente, the latter due to its cloud storage and accompanying iPad app. Whatever you use—be it an index card system or software—I cannot stress enough the importance of good note taking habits and an efficient retrieval system. Think about it.

 

Good stuff to think about!

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Sente interfaces directly to Mellel (you choose between Bookends and Mellel in the preferences).

 

Sente has a free version. If you want more than 100 references in a library (no restriction on the number of libraries), you do pay a fee of $59.99 (if you have an academic affiliation).

 

See http://www.thirdstreetsoftware.com/site/SenteForMac.html

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I used Bookends for a while with Nisus Writer, but switched over the Sente for my dissertation. It was a great tool for a larger project, but is now working quite well for smaller articles and presentations. I find the ability to keep PDFs, book and PDF notes, and citation info together in a single app is very productive for my research and writing workflow. I also like the ability to use the Sente app on my iPad which stays synced with my laptop.

 

Mike

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Sente interfaces directly to Mellel (you choose between Bookends and Mellel in the preferences).

 

Sente has a free version. If you want more than 100 references in a library (no restriction on the number of libraries), you do pay a fee of $59.99 (if you have an academic affiliation).

 

See http://www.thirdstreetsoftware.com/site/SenteForMac.html

 

Excellent! I'll try out the free version first and see how I like it, then as I need more, I can upgrade to the full version. I do have an academic affiliation, so that'll work. Thanks a bunch!

I used Bookends for a while with Nisus Writer, but switched over the Sente for my dissertation. It was a great tool for a larger project, but is now working quite well for smaller articles and presentations. I find the ability to keep PDFs, book and PDF notes, and citation info together in a single app is very productive for my research and writing workflow. I also like the ability to use the Sente app on my iPad which stays synced with my laptop.

 

Mike

 

Nice. I'll probably go straight to Sente. The iOS app syncing sounds appealing to me as well.

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Giving Sente a try. Does seem very powerful yet more polished/integrated than Zotero. Like how it has a free basic plan, and I can later upgrade if I need more syncing power. I'll give it a spin this semester with Mellel and see how it goes.

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I have a few "Getting Started" questions with Sente. I did also email these to Sente Support, as well as I'm going to watch their training videos this weekend.

 

1. How does one activate Turabian 8 citations in Sente?

2. I've heard Sente interfaces with EBSCO, etc. Here's the library databases I have access to through my seminary. How would I integrate these with Sente? http://www.lru.edu/Content.aspx?page=library_alldb&tool=library

3. Is there a way to integrate Sente with citations from Accordance (as well as with Logos or WORDsearch)?

4. I've set Mellel to use Sente as my default citation manager. Is there anything else I need to do to get it going or am I set?

 

Side question: My college's paper template is available in Word (docx). I'd like to convert it into a Mellel template and optimize it so it functions well in Mellel but still retains the required formatting. If I email the document to someone, can someone help me convert/optimize it for Mellel? I also sent it to Mellel Support, but I haven't heard back from them yet.

 

Thanks!

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Nathan,

 

I'll try to answer some of of your questions.

 

1. I don't know if Sente has updated to Turabian 8, but to change the reference style you need to active it under the Bibliography Formats window. I use SBL Style, and had to create the entire Format from scratch. It's not hard, just time consuming.

 

2. Yes, you need to get your Library proxy information and then set up a new Bookmark with the correct protocols. Your librarian should be able to help you.

 

3. I'm not sure why you would want to cite an Accordance module in an academic paper. If you are working in a text or doing original language research, then I would cite the text module per your style guide's recommendations. All other material is easily found in the library.

 

4. Nope. You are set.

 

Answer to the side question: I doubt Mellel will provide a template for you. I would suggest you learn the software in setting up your own template. I did the same thing with SBL Style. It took me about 4 hours to work through the SBL Style Guide and create my templates. I learned Mellel and got to know SBL Style well. When I start a new writing project now, it takes me all of a minute to get a fresh SBL style template up and going.

 

1. Sounds good. I got it activated, and I'm showing the sample templates to my college to see if they're accurate or need tweaking.

 

2. Thanks for the info. I've emailed my college's library and asked them how to set this up.

 

3. For Theology papers, etc., I have to use various resources (books, journals, etc.). Now that I'm using Accordance more, I'm trying to manage a workflow on how to properly cite it with Turabian so I can use Accordance for more research.

 

4. Great!

 

As for Mellel, I am working to better learn the software (I've been watching the YouTube videos and playing around with it). I'm chatting with my college and showing them the videos to see if a couple of us with Macs can work through it and come up with a good Mellel template, then post it to the college library website.

 

Thanks!

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It seems I do need to tweak the Turabian citation style for my college. Does anyone that uses Sente have a link or something they can show me that'd point me in the right direction on how to go about editing citation styles? Once I get into it, I should be able to figure it out OK.

 

Thanks!

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