1. Organize your Zotero library using "collections." To create a new collections, click the "new collection" icon (looks like a folder) in the left corner of the Zotero pane.

2.  Enter a name for your collection. You can always rename a collection later via the right-click menu.

3. Create sub-collections either by using the pull-down menu and choosing the parent-level collection (see image below), or by right clicking on the desired parent-level collection and selecting New Sub-Collection.

Sources saved in subcollections are not automatically duplicated to the parent-level folder. Instead, consider using subcollections to divide out sources based on topics, research phases, or parts of a document you are writing, in order to more readily find sources or see patterns in the literature you are collecting.

4. You can copy items to other collections (for example, a subcollection) by selecting as many items as you like and dragging and dropping them onto another collection.