diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py b/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
index 3c39085..ccce5c7 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/forms.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         self.helper = FormHelper(self)
         if "instance" in kwargs:
             self.fields["bibs_url"].widget.choices = [
-                (self.initial.get("bibs_url"), self.instance.bibtex.get("title"))
+                (self.initial.get("bibs_url"), self.instance.get_bibtex.get("title"))
             ]
         self.helper.layout = Layout(
             Row(
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/models.py b/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
index e937a05..3bb647e 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/models.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import json
 from django.db import models
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.fields import GenericForeignKey
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
@@ -30,11 +31,17 @@ class Reference(models.Model):
     referenced_object = GenericForeignKey()
 
     def __str__(self):
-        title = self.bibtex.get("title")
+        title = self.get_bibtex.get("title")
         desc = [title, self.pages_start, self.pages_end, self.folio, self.notes]
         desc = ", ".join(map(str, filter(None, desc)))
         return desc
 
+    @property
+    def get_bibtex(self):
+        if isinstance(self.bibtex, str):
+            return json.loads(self.bibtex)
+        return self.bibtex
+
     def get_absolute_url(self):
         return reverse("apis_bibsonomy:referencedetail", kwargs={"pk": self.pk})
 
diff --git a/apis_bibsonomy/views.py b/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
index cce77a3..ea32143 100644
--- a/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
+++ b/apis_bibsonomy/views.py
@@ -81,7 +81,9 @@ def form_valid(self, form):
         )
         args["object_id"] = self.request.resolver_match.kwargs["pk"]
         ref = Reference.objects.create(**args)
-        self.request.session["last_bibsonomy_reference_title"] = ref.bibtex.get("title")
+        self.request.session["last_bibsonomy_reference_title"] = ref.get_bibtex.get(
+            "title"
+        )
         return super().form_valid(form)