Bookends is described as 'Commercial reference management software package for Mac OS X that is used to manage bibliographies and references when writing essays and articles. Its target market is students, academics and professionals' and is a research manager in the education & reference category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Bookends for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Web-based, Linux and iPhone apps. The best Bookends alternative is Zotero, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Bookends are Qiqqa, Mendeley, JabRef and BibSonomy.