You can download a reference to EndNote Basic by using the Export 
menu and selecting the EndNote Web option. It works well with printed books (with an author), but unfortunately not so well with e-journals' articles, e-books or books with an editor.
Go to the Collect tab -> Online Search.
Click on the Select Favorites link, and select the catalogue you would like to use (for instance, RERO).
Then select the RERO catalogue in the drop-down menu, and click on Connect; a search window opens, and you can search directly inside the catalogue.
Then select a document, and select the group you wish to add it in.
It is possible to import directly the reference of a journal article from certain databases, for instance the EBSCO databases:
Historical Abstracts is an EBSCO database: you can select some articles by adding them to the folder (click on the blue folder icon on the right), then click on the folder link on top of the page, select the references you wish to save into your database, and click on the Export button 
. Select the Direct Export to EndNote Web option.
For databases from other providers, you must proceed in several steps: first save the file, then import it into EndNote Basic using the right import option.
For instance, how to import the reference of an article from JStor ? Once you have found an interesting article, click on it, then on the Cite this Item link in the Tools box on the right. Select the RIS file format, and save it on your computer.
Then go to EndNote Basic, Collect tab -> Import References. Select the file, the JSTOR import option in the drop-down menu, and the group you want to add the reference in. And click on Import.
You must select the right import option, for the database and the database provider. For instance, if you want to import a reference from the PAIS database to EndNote Basic. The library subscribes to PAIS through a company called Proquest. Among the import options for PAIS, you can find PAIS(DL), PAIS(CSA), PAIS(OCLC), and PAIS(OvidSP), but not PAIS(Proquest). So none of these options will work. The right import option is RefMan RIS, which is a generic option you can use if you do not find an import option which fits the database and the database provider.
Go to the Collect Tab -> New Reference. Select the right Reference Type in the drop-down menu (for instance Book, or Edited Book), enter the data, and save the reference