For College & University Librarians
A citation tool you can confidently recommend.
CitationWizard.net checks student references against Crossref, OpenAlex, and other public academic databases. It catches wrong DOIs, missing details, and references that don't exist — with no AI, no uploads, no login required for casual use, and a free tier that covers 5–10 papers. Safe to recommend. Easy to use in a workshop.
Why it’s safe to recommend
No IT approval needed
Everything runs in the browser. There’s no app to install, no server access to provision, and no institutional license to negotiate.
Student work stays private
Papers are never sent to CitationWizard servers. Only the citations themselves are looked up in public databases.
Free for typical coursework
Students can try it without logging in (20 references per session). A free account provides 500 lookups, then 50/day. Most students will never hit a limit.
Why it's good for students
Nothing Leaves the Browser
Student work is never uploaded to a server. CitationWizard.net runs entirely in the browser and queries only public databases (Crossref, OpenAlex). Nothing to log, nothing to store, nothing to worry about.
Simplified access to academic sources
Uses EZproxy and OpenURL to seamlessly link students to full text through your library. No configuration needed for University Email addresses, and it works with any library that supports these standards.
Verified Sources, Not AI
Every reference is checked against Crossref, OpenAlex, Open Library, and Google Books. Results show exactly where data came from and link directly to the source. No AI, no hallucinations, no black box.
Any Citation Style
Export bibliographies in APA, MLA, Chicago, or thousands of publisher-specific styles — using the same formatter as Zotero. Perfect for instruction sessions on citation formatting.
Add CitationWizard.net to your LibGuide or share it with your instruction team.