Introduction to Public Lists

Public Lists are a great way to share the metadata of your library with anyone, whether or not they subscribe to Papers.

You can create a Public List from any library in your Papers account, including Shared Libraries (provided you have admin rights). Note that individual references cannot be shared as Public Lists—only Libraries and Collections can be shared this way.

To create a Public List, click on the Settings (gear) icon to the right of the Library or Collection and select “Share as Public List.”

You’ll then get a pop-up confirming that you are about to make a public lists of your content, which will make the metadata of your library/collection visible to anyone with the link.

Click “Create Public List” and you’ll be given a link to your metadata, which you can share with anyone. Colleagues who view your Public List can even click to add the metadata from any of your references directly to their Papers library—provided they have one. If they don’t, they’ll be prompted to sign up for an account.

Note, you can stop sharing your content publicly at anytime by returning to Settings (gearbox) icon next to your shared Library or Collection, clicking on “Share as Public Lists” again, and selecting “Stop Sharing