Library

START has created an electronic library of urban agriculture research, which you may consult as you create your city assessments. This library includes hundreds of PDF files: books, reports, and journal articles on topics related to urban agriculture. Many of these journal articles and books are copyrighted, so the library is only available to authorized users.

Getting Started

START's urban agriculture library utilizes Zotero, which is a web-based tool to collect, organize, cite, and share research sources. Zotero is an add-on component to Mozilla Firefox internet browser, so you must have both Firefox and Zotero installed on your computer. Follow the steps below to install the necessary software and get access to the Urban Agriculture Library.

1. Install Mozilla Firefox. Go to http://www.mozilla.com, click on the "download" button, and follow the instructions to download and install Firefox on your computer. If you already have Firefox, you may still need to update your Firefox software to ensure that it will work with Zotero. To update Firefox, on the menu bar click the "Firefox" menu and select "About Firefox". The About Firefox window will open and Firefox will begin checking for updates. If updates are available, they will begin downloading automatically. If Firefox is already up to date, just close the "About Firefox" window. When the updates are downloaded and ready to be installed, click "Apply Update". Firefox will be restarted and the updates will be installed.

2. Install Zotero. Open Firefox. Go to http://www.zotero.org/. Click the red "download" button, and follow the instructions to download and install Zotero.

3. Join the Zotero urban agriculture library group. Zotero groups are a way to share documents and references. START has added several hundred references to the "Urban Agriculture - PRIVATE" group library, which are only available to group members. The webpage for this group is http://www.zotero.org/groups/49455, but this link will only work for group members. Email Abby Gwaltney at gro.trats|yentlawga#gro.trats|yentlawga to request an invitation to join this private group. Abby will send you an invitation from Zotero. Follow the email instructions to join this group and gain access to START's urban agriculture library. Once you become a member of this group you can access all of the items that START has acquired, and you may also add your own documents to share with other city assessment team members.

4. Use the library. Open Firefox and click on "Zotero" in the bottom right corner of the browser. The Zotero window will open up in the lower part of the browser. Click on "Urban Agriculture - PRIVATE" under "Group Libraries". Search and sort references to find whatever is useful to you. You can also add new documents to this group library if you come across something useful to share.

Consult the Zotero support webpage as needed: http://www.zotero.org/support/