I have started a project to create a citable library of all available bibliographic and other resources related to the Fayḍah. This includes several parts:
- PDF Directory browser: This is simply a way of browsing through the PDF and image files I have uploaded of documents (nearly all of them in Arabic) pertaining to the Fayḍah. You may either download the PDF and view it in your own browser or view it in Google Documents.
- Zotero Bibliographic Database: I have also created a bibliographic database on Zotero, a very useful tool for organizing bibliographic citations, PDFs, commentaries, etc., and citing these things in Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org. You have to join the Zotero group to view this library, and you have to download the Zotero Firefox and word processor plugins to store everything on your computer and automatically generate citations in your own texts.
- I will be gathering bibliographic data to catalog, annotate, and ultimately translate as many of these resources as possible. I haven't settled on a database system yet, but to start I will be starting to gather some of this information on this wiki. If you want to help with this project, create a wiki page for one of the PDFs you find (on the above mentioned directory browser), and include as many of these (not necessarily all) that you have the time to do:
- Title in original language (if no title, a brief description, for example "Letter to Shakyhānī" or "A response to Shaykh Aḥmad Dem")
- Title in Romanized Arabic
- Title translated into English and/or French
- Name of author in Arabic, and romanized Arabic
- Place of publication
- Date of publication
- Your own summary of what the document is about
- Translation if you have time
- Link to the PDF page (for example, http://medinabaay.org/image-dir/
Using the Zotero Bibliography
Zotero is a very useful tool for scholars and anyone interested in conducting research. I would recommend anyone doing research on any topic to start using it immediately. You can browse the Zotero bibliography by visiting the web page and becoming a member of the group, but to contribute to the bibliography and use it to create citations for your own papers, you'll need to download the Zotero Firefox plugin the Zotero word processor plugin.
Here is what you will need to do to access the Zotero bibliography:
- To view the bibliographic database on-line and become a member of the Zotero group:
- Visit Zotero.org and click "register" on the top-right corner of the screen and create a new account.
- Go to your inbox and click on the link in the confirmation email Zotero sends you. You will now be logged in and your account will be activated.
- Send me a message (at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) telling me your user name and then when you receive an invitation email, click on the link to confirm. You will now be a member of the group.
- If you want to browse the library before becoming an official member of the group, just visit the group page. Once you become a member you will be able to download attachments and, if you are an administrator, you will be able to add and modify references as well.
- To install the plugin so you can use the database on your own computer, adding/modifying references and creating citations for your own papers:
- First, make sure you're using the Firefox web browser—you can browse the database using Internet Explorer, but you must be using Firefox to change or use it.
- Visit the Zotero web site and click "Download" to install the Firefox plugin. You will probably see a little banner on the top of your Firefox window asking if you want to allow Zotero.org to ask to install software on your computer. Click yes.
- Restart Firefox.
- After Firefox restarts, you'll see a little "Zotero" icon on the bottom-right corner of the screen. Click this to see Zotero. This will open three empty window panes with a band running across the top of them.
- Click on the little gray gears icon (it says "Actions" when you mouse over it) and click on "Preferences...".
- The Preferences window comes up, then click on "Sync"
- Under Zotero Sync Server enter your user name and password, then check the boxes "Sync automatically" and "Sync attachment files in group libraries using Zotero storage" then click "Close"
- Now if you look back down at your Zotero window on the left, you should see "Group Libraries" and under that "Medina Baay" and its sub-folders. You will find references, notes, and PDFs in here.
- To cite things from the Zotero library within Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org (a free equivalent to Microsoft Office), there is another Firefox plugin you will need to download, on this page, following the instructions on that page. That plugin will automatically insert citations in papers you are writing and create a bibliogrpahy.
- Using the Zotero Firefox plugin
- The Zotero web site has many instructional videos
- When you are browsing a library database, Amazon.com, Google Scholar, and so on, and you are looking at a page with one or more bibliographical references on it, you will see a little icon at the top-right of your Firefox window in the address bar. Click on this icon and it will save the reference to your database. (You should look at the reference and correct any mistakes, because sometimes only part of the required information is stored.)
- To copy something to the Medina Baay group library (you must be an administrator--email me and ask if you want to be one), simply drag the reference to the group folder.
