---
type: Marketing Page
title: 'Comparison: BibTeX'
description: BibTeX is an interchange format, not a competing program. Librario speaks
  it natively and exports whole collections as a .bib file for LaTeX, JabRef, BibDesk
  and Overleaf.
resource: https://www.librario.de/en/vergleiche/bibtex
tags:
- vergleiche
---

# Comparison: BibTeX

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

## Structured data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Librario","legalName":"BauCloud GmbH","url":"https://www.librario.de","logo":"https://www.librario.de/a/favicons/apple-touch-icon-42469d8e.png","contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","email":"info@librario.de"}}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Do we have to drop BibTeX if we adopt Librario?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Should we use BibTeX or BibLaTeX?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does our existing .bib file come into Librario?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Librario meet our IT-security and data-protection requirements?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can we still evidence our sources years later?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do we own our holdings — can we get out again?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"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."}}]}
```