Bibliographic Tool
Developer: Third Street Software
Shareware: $129.95, $89.95 (Educational)
Version: 4.1.0
Release Date: 2007-01-18
Last Updated: 2007-02-06
Pros: Innovative and clean interface and software design; Online access to almost any library (z39.50 protocol); Excellent hunt, seek and download capabilities; Imports Endnote databases.
Cons: No import filter manager; Small number of bibliography formats; Handles only parenthetic citations, no footnotes.
Description
Sente is the new kid on the block of bibliographic tools for the Mac and it has already established itself as a serious alternative to both Endnote and Bookends. Of all three applications it offers the most innovative and Mac-like interface. This, together with its excellent search and download capabilities, helps overcome some of its minor shortcomings compared to Bookends.
Sente's interface reminds of iTunes, with a browser
where one can sort references by Publications, Author and
Date. Additionally it lets one create "Filters", which are
basically the same as the Smart Groups (constantly updated
saved searches) one can find it in Bookends, only that one
can define Filters with more than one criteria. But using
Sente purely as an iTunes for nerds would be to neglect its
true powers, which lie in its online capabilities. Sente is
the ideal tool for some serious literature research, as it
does not only offer access to the major libraries such as
the Library of Congress, but also an endless list of
smaller university libraries ranging from Aalborg
Universitetsbibliotek to Yaroslavl Library Network. And,
best of all, if you cannot find your own university library
in that list you can configure Sente do so, as long as your
library supports the z39.50 protocol (though you might have
to contact your library and ask them to allow you access).
On op of that you can save your searches and schedule them
to be automatically repeated on a regular basis. That way
you can make sure you always receive the latest references
for books on kangaroos at the University of Wollongong. And
since this is the iTunes version of a bibliographic tool
you can also perform online searches for full texts and
book covers at Amazon and other commercial sites.
Sente is great as long as you get your references online
or type them by hand (which is more comfortable than in
Bookends), but unfortunately you might run into problems
trying to import them from disk. Although the software
supports the major reference formats including MARC21, Web
of Science and Endnote, there is no guarantee that it will
work flawlessly, and unlike Bookends it does not allow you
to tweak the import engine according to your needs. There
have also been complaints about the lack of bibliography
templates, but then again Sente lets you create your own
formats with ease. And if you want to export you
bibliographies as footnotes (Sente works fine with Mellel
and Word) you will have to stick with Bookends, as Sente
can only handle parenthetic citations.
As with any good software competition the choice between
Sente and Bookends almost comes down to a matter of
personal preference. That said, if you are into locating
new literature sources in far-off destinations, then Sente
has a slight edge over Bookends. The latter probably
supplies the better database and more flexibility in the
importing and formatting of references and bibliographies.
The last thing to mention is that at $89.95 for the
educational version Sente does not come cheap.
Useful Links
Sente User Forum