Skip to content
Librario & BibTeX

BibTeX is a format, not a rival.

BibTeX is a file and program format for bibliographies — not a competing program. Librario speaks it natively: it exports whole collections as a .bib file that reads into any LaTeX toolchain.

Try free for 14 days Watch a demo

Two tools

Two tools, two jobs

BibTeX and Librario are not competitors — they solve different jobs.

BibTeX

What BibTeX does

A file and program format, not a standalone application. BibTeX is strong in LaTeX typesetting.

  • Typeset and format bibliographies in LaTeX
  • Read by JabRef, BibDesk, Overleaf and any LaTeX toolchain
  • BibLaTeX with the Biber backend as the modern successor
Librario

What Librario does

The company library that feeds a BibTeX file.

  • The shared company collection — exportable as a BibTeX file
  • Lending and physical copies, member and permission management
  • Collections that belong to the company — not to a single file

The bridge

One collection, one .bib file

A collection or a whole search result exports in one step as a .bib file — one entry per publication, with a stable entry key. LaTeX, JabRef, BibDesk and Overleaf read that file directly.

Here is what an entry exported by Librario looks like:

@article{librario:publication-4217,
  author        = {Sandig, Beatrice and Khoury, Rafael},
  title         = {Methoden der Literaturverwaltung in Forschungsteams},
  journal       = {Information — Wissenschaft & Praxis},
  year          = {2024},
  volume        = {75},
  number        = {2},
  pages         = {88--97},
  doi           = {10.1515/iwp-2024-0012},
  Date-Added    = {2024-05-02T14:31:00Z},
  Date-Modified = {2024-09-18T08:05:00Z}
}

For recurring, scripted analyses rather than a fresh export, the REST API is available.

What Librario adds as an institution

What a .bib file cannot do

01 · COLLECTIONS

Knowledge that belongs to the team

A collection in Librario belongs to the company, not to a person. When someone leaves the team, the collection stays — and every source in it.

02 · AI RESEARCH

The MCP server

An AI assistant searches the company collection directly — secured, tenant-separated, with the same permissions as the web interface.

03 · IT STAYS

The collection outlives staff changes

Publications, metadata and attached PDFs stay in the company collection — no matter who created them or who has left the company.

Honestly

What Librario is not

Librario does not replace BibTeX. Typesetting the bibliography, formatting citations, embedding them in a LaTeX document — that is what BibTeX and BibLaTeX do. Librario does not typeset documents.

How your literature gets into Librario

Librario does not ship a ready-made file import for .bib or .enw — but it offers two flexible paths. For everyday cataloguing, Librario detects metadata automatically from uploaded PDFs and via identifiers such as ISBN, DOI or arXiv ID. For a migration or a recurring sync, use the REST API: your IT builds exactly the importer your workflow needs — from a .bib file, from an Excel sheet, or from your previous system.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to drop BibTeX if we adopt Librario?
No. BibTeX is the interchange format of your LaTeX toolchain. Librario is the company library above it — it exports natively as BibTeX and works with any LaTeX workflow.
Should we use BibTeX or BibLaTeX?
Either works. The .bib file Librario exports reads into both classic BibTeX and modern BibLaTeX with the Biber backend — you decide that in your LaTeX toolchain, not in Librario.
Does our existing .bib file come into Librario?
Librario has no ready-made .bib or .enw file import. Existing literature comes in via automatic metadata detection from PDFs and via identifiers (ISBN, DOI, arXiv ID) — and via the REST API, which lets your IT script an importer for any source, e.g. from a .bib file or an Excel sheet.
Does Librario meet our IT-security and data-protection requirements?
Librario runs in data centres in the EU, is GDPR-compliant and supports single sign-on via Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Entra ID). A data processing agreement (DPA) is in place; the Trust Center holds the DPA with the technical and organisational measures and the list of sub-processors.
Can we still evidence our sources years later?
Yes. A publication with its metadata and attached PDF stays in the company collection — no matter who created it or who has left the company.
Do we own our holdings — can we get out again?
Yes. You export your metadata at any time, in one click, as BibTeX, EndNote or CSV; for scripted analyses the REST API is available. Your holdings are yours — regardless of what happens with Librario.

More from Librario

Features that keep the collection alive

Automated cataloguing

Enter an ISBN, DOI or arXiv ID — Librario fetches the title, authors and metadata automatically.

Full-text search

Search the whole collection — right into the text of attached PDFs.

Usability

If you can use Word, you can use Librario — no training needed.

Export your company collection into any LaTeX toolchain.

Start free and export a first collection as a BibTeX file for your next LaTeX project.

Try free for 14 days All comparisons