To link the references to a database, it is also possible to make use of the free and open source citation manager Zotero. The required plug-in for Word is bundled with the Zotero software, so once you have installed Zotero, you will also have the functionality added to Word, for more information, consult Zotero's support pages.

For convenient gathering of references in the browser, you can also install Zotero connector for Browsers.

Zotero makes it easy to manage all relevant references in a database. Existing databases in all kinds of formats can be imported, and literature can be added in numerous ways (visiting a library catalogue, specifying DOIs or ISBNs). References in the database can then be grouped into collections and subcollections.

Open a document in Word or LibreOffice, select the Zotero ribbon and klick on Add/Edit Citation.

The first time you do this, you will be asked for a citation style and the language. Here, choose “Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (author-date)” and the main language of the document.

After that, you will be presented the Zotero search bar where you can enter terms like the year, author or title of the work you want to cite.

Based on the entries in the Zotero database, relevant suggestions will be presented.

Choose the correct one

And by klicking on the entry, you can customize the appearance

This includes the reference to a page or other sub-units, adding prefix and/or suffix or the suppression of the authors' names.

Finally, press enter, and the rendered reference will be inserted into the document.

You can edit these references lateron by positioning the cursor in the reference and klick on Add/Edit Citation.

You might also want to consult the Zotero manual how to assign keyboard shortcuts to the Zotero-related commands.