Library

The Library is a centralized place for all your research sources. Upload PDFs, import from reference managers, and organize everything into collections. Any source in your library is available for citation search when you write.

Accessing the Library

Click Library in the sidebar. The Library view replaces the sidebar menu; use the back arrow to return. The view displays your sources in a list with a search bar and an upload button in the header. Each entry shows the title, authors, year, and source type. The empty Library screen also offers Upload PDF files and reference-manager import options.

Adding Sources

Upload a PDF

Click the upload button and select Upload PDF files, or drag and drop a PDF directly into the library panel. Jenni extracts available metadata such as title, authors, year, DOI, and abstract, then prepares the text for search and AI tools.

The upload dialog can assign the new source to one or more collections before processing begins. If you open the dialog while viewing a collection, Jenni selects that collection automatically for PDF, BibTeX/RIS, and DOI imports; you can change the selection before importing. After you start the upload, Jenni opens the Library panel automatically so you can watch its status.

Import from Zotero

Go to Settings > Connections and click Connect next to Zotero, or click the upload button in the Library and select Import from Zotero. Authorize library and group access, then select a collection. Jenni lists collections from your personal Zotero library and the group libraries you can read; group rows include the group name. Sources and attached PDFs are imported into your Jenni library.

This is a one-way import. Tags and notes from Zotero are not imported. Only papers saved in a Zotero collection will appear – items not added to any collection are not available for import. To pick up sources added after the initial sync, return to Settings > Connections and re-import.

If a personal-library item has reference details but its PDF is not stored in Zotero cloud storage, Jenni imports the source without the PDF instead of treating the whole item as a failed upload. After the import, one Some PDFs were not available notice shows how many items were affected. Check your Zotero file-sync settings and storage quota, or attach the PDFs to those sources manually in Jenni.

Import from Mendeley

The process is identical to Zotero. Click Upload in the Library and select Import from Mendeley, or connect via Settings > Connections. Authorize, select collections, and import. PDFs attached in Mendeley are imported automatically. Annotations and highlights from Mendeley are not imported.

Only papers saved in a Mendeley collection will appear for import. Re-import as needed for new additions.

Import from BibTeX or RIS

Upload a .bib (BibTeX) or .ris (RIS) file from the + New menu to add references in bulk. Review the imported details and correct any incomplete entries in your Library.

Import by DOI, PMID, or ISBN

Paste a DOI, PMID URL, or ISBN into the citation search or import dialog. Jenni fills in the available source details automatically.

When you add a paper via DOI or PMID, Jenni attempts to fetch the full PDF. If successful, the text is available for citation, chat, and synthesis. If Jenni cannot fetch the PDF, you will see a “Missing PDF Attachment” warning. To resolve it, go to your Library, click View next to the warning, and click Fetch to retry or Upload PDF to attach the paper manually. Sources without an attached PDF can still be cited, but they are not available for AI Chat or autocomplete until a PDF is attached.

From Citation Search

When you search for citations while writing, any result you select is saved to your library automatically. You can also save external results without inserting them, which is useful for building a reading list before you begin drafting.

Organizing with Collections

Collections work like folders for your sources. You can:

• Create a new collection from the library sidebar
• Name and rename collections at any time
• Nest collections inside other collections for hierarchical organization
• Assign sources to one or more collections with Add to collection
• Delete a collection without removing the sources it contains (they remain in the main library)

A single source can belong to multiple collections. You can also assign sources to collections during PDF upload instead of organizing them afterward.

When a collection is empty, click Add from library to search your existing sources. Select one or more sources, then click Add sources. Sources already assigned to the collection are labelled Added and cannot be selected again. Click Import sources instead when you need to upload a PDF or import a source that is not yet in your Library.

Searching the Library

The search bar at the top of the Library searches titles, authors, abstracts, and the text of uploaded PDFs. You can use exact phrases or broader topic-based queries to find relevant sources.

Filters

Narrow your library view using the filter controls:

Filters combine with search. Apply a year range and a work type filter, then search by keyword to drill down to exactly what you need.

Working with PDFs

Click any source that has an attached PDF to open it in the built-in reader. From the reader you can:

• Search within the PDF using Ctrl/Cmd + F
• Browse page thumbnails, move between pages, and adjust zoom
• Select text to copy it with a citation or quote it in Chat
• Edit metadata to correct titles, authors, or other fields that were extracted incorrectly
• Delete the source from your library entirely

PDF Processing Status

PDF availability and AI availability are separate. A source can be visible in your library while Jenni is still preparing its text for Chat and Autocomplete.

• Processing means Jenni is still preparing the PDF for AI features
• Queued means the source is waiting to be processed and will retry automatically
• When processing completes, the PDF becomes available in Chat and Autocomplete

Keep queued sources in your library; you do not need to upload them again unless the original upload failed.

Jenni processes scanned and image-heavy PDFs with OCR for visible text, mathematical notation, and tables. Tiny decorative images are ignored, and there is no separate scanned-image-count limit. Page and file-size limits still apply to the upload.

See the PDF Reader page for details on the reading and search experience.

Editing Metadata

If a source’s title, author, or publication data is incorrect or incomplete:

1. Click the source in your Library
2. Click Details, then the pencil icon to edit
3. Update any fields and click Save

Jenni pulls citation formatting from this metadata, so clean records produce cleaner citations and reference lists.

For each contributor, use the Role dropdown to identify authors, editors, translators, directors, producers, hosts, interviewers, narrators, and other supported roles. Imported roles from Zotero, BibTeX, RIS, and DOI metadata are preserved when available.

Exporting Sources

Select one or more sources in the library and export them in either of two formats:

• BibTeX (.bib), compatible with LaTeX editors and most reference managers
• RIS (.ris), compatible with EndNote, RefWorks, and other tools

Exported files include all available metadata for the selected sources.

Upload Limits

Files that exceed the size or page limit for your plan are rejected at upload. Upgrade your plan in Settings > Billing to increase limits. See Plans and Billing for details.

Managing Duplicate Sources

When you import sources from multiple places (PDF uploads, Zotero, Mendeley, citation search), the same paper can end up in your library more than once. Jenni detects these duplicates automatically and surfaces them in a Library Issues alert.

How Duplicate Detection Works

Jenni compares academic identifiers and bibliographic details to find sources that appear to be the same work. Review each suggested group before removing anything.

Reviewing Duplicates

When duplicates are found, a blue alert banner appears at the top of the Library with the count (for example, “3 duplicate groups”). Click Review to open the Library Issues dialog, which shows each duplicate group as a card listing the matching sources side by side.

Resolving Duplicates

For each duplicate group, you have two options:

• Keep (checkmark icon): Keeps only the selected source and moves all other duplicates in the group to trash. Use this when you know which copy you want to preserve.
• Trash (trash icon): Moves a single source to trash without affecting the rest of the group. Use this to remove copies one at a time.

Both actions require confirmation before anything is deleted. When a duplicate group is reduced to a single source, it disappears from the issues list automatically.

The Library Issues dialog also has a Missing PDFs tab for sources that were added by DOI or PMID but do not have an attached PDF. See Import by DOI, PMID, or ISBN for details on resolving those.

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions