References can be added to a publications list by copying them from another source and pasting them into BibDesk's main window. The text being pasted can be BibTeX, PubMed, RIS (Reference Manager), MARC, JSTOR, Web of Science, Dublin Core, Refer, MODS, or SciFinder formatted text, or a DOI.
Furthermore, everything that can be dragged and dropped on a BibDesk window can also be added using Copy and Paste.