Reading lists: help for staff

About the reading list system

All modules have a reading list on the reading list system. Module leaders are responsible for populating these lists. The purpose of these lists is two-fold: to guide students to relevant material to support their studies and to ensure that the Library is alerted to the materials required. The Library has produced guidance on best practice for reading lists, including how to ensure that they meet inclusivity and accessibility guidelines.

The University moved to a new reading list system in April 2024 and Library staff are able to provide advice and assistance as you familiarise yourself with new features and processes. On this page, you will find details of support available from the Library, our Getting Started guide and detailed how-to guides, including video tutorials.

Support from the Library

We are offering a webinar (including Q&A) on the new reading list system which will run several times throughout summer 2024, as well as one-to-one appointments with librarians to address specific queries, advise on best practice, and provide 'at-elbow' support.

You can also contact your Academic Librarian directly or email library@lboro.ac.uk for assistance.

How-to guides

Getting started

Our getting started guide outlines the essential first steps for checking and editing your migrated list and making it available to your students.

Add the reading list to the Learn module

You will need to ensure that your reading list is linked to your module page on Learn. Instructions for doing this, provided by the Technology Enhanced Learning team, can be accessed via the link below.

Adding the module reading list to Learn (TEL Guide)

Claim your list

If you are the module leader, add yourself as the List owner.

If you are not the module leader but you will be adding content or need regular access to a list, you can instead add it to the My Lists area of the reading list system, ensuring that it is readily accessible to you when adding items form external sources such as Library Catalogue Plus.

See our section below on Accessing and owning reading lists for more information.

Check the migrated data on your reading list

Following the transition to the new reading list system in April 2024, check that your reading list is as you expect and as you need it to be.

Read the 'Best practice' guidance

Read our best practice guidelines for reading lists to consider the structure, importance tags, notes, and diversity of sources on your list. This will ensure that your list is as accessible and user friendly as possible.

Best practice guidelines for reading lists

Add the bookmark tool

You will need to install the bookmark tool in your Internet browser to be able to add items to your reading list. See our section below on Adding items to your reading list for detailed instructions.

Make any necessary changes

If you need to make any changes to your list, you can add, edit, delete, and move items around very easily. See the section below on Adding items to your reading list and Organising your reading list for more information.

Publish your list

Any changes you make will be saved automatically. To send those changes for review by library staff and to ensure that your students see them, click the ‘publish’ button. It is recommended that you only ‘publish’ once at the end of each editing session. For more information, please refer to the section below entitled Publishing your list.

Accessing and owning reading lists

Accessing a reading list

The simplest way to access a reading list is via the corresponding module page on Learn. To ensure a consistent experience for students, academics are advised to add the reading list link to the module information box on Learn module pages. If you have not yet linked your reading list to your Learn module, please refer to the guidance provided by the Technology Enhanced Learning team, available via the link below.

You can also access the reading list system directly. Please watch our video for a demonstration of how to find a reading list from the reading list system homepage.

 

Claiming ownership of a reading list (for module leaders)

Module leaders can assign themselves as List owner of a particular reading list.

Being a list owner streamlines the process of adding new items to a list by ensuring that it appears in your list history. It also helps your students and the Library by signposting who to contact in the event of any queries.

To assign yourself as list owner:

  1. Navigate to the list in the reading list system and click Edit, then click Assign list owner.
  2. Click into the box labelled Search for user.
  3. Click on the Assign to me option.
  4. Click Save.

Adding a list to My Lists (for non-module leaders)

If you are not the module leader but you will be adding content or need regular access to a particular list, you can instead add it to the My Lists area of the reading list system, ensuring that it is readily accessible to you when adding items from sources such as Library Catalogue Plus. This step is optional and is not a prerequisite for editing reading lists.

To add a list, access it in the reading list system. At the top of the page, to the right of the reading list title, click the button labelled +My Lists.

You can access all of the lists you have added previously by clicking the My Lists link in the purple menu bar at the top of the page. From here, you can also remove lists that you no longer require.

Adding items to your reading list

Adding the bookmark tool

The easiest way to add items to your reading list is to use the bookmark tool. This is a browser extension that can be installed in Chrome, FireFox and Edge.

The video below explains the process of adding the bookmark tool to your browser.

Bookmarking items from the Library's collection

Once you have installed the bookmark tool, you can add content to your reading list from Library Catalogue Plus and from Articles Plus. The video below explains how to do this.

Adding specific types of Library content to your reading list

Adding a book from Library Catalogue Plus

  1. Search Libary Catalogue Plus for the book you want to add.
  2. Click on the book title to open the item record.
  3. Click on the bookmark tool browser extension (a small square with the word ‘talis’ on it). Browser extensions usually appear to the right of the address bar in your web browser. If you have not already installed the bookmark tool, please see the section on Adding the bookmark tool for guidance.
  4. Quickly check that the information presented on the bookmarking form looks correct.
  5. Click Create & Add to List.
  6. Check that the correct reading list is selected in the Add to list dropdown.
  7. Specify whether you want the item to appear at the top or at the bottom of the list (or at the top or bottom of a specific section, which can be selected from a separate dropdown).
  8. Set the importance (key, recommended or further) of the item.
  9. If applicable, add a Note for student and/or Note for library in the relevant fields.
  10. Click Ok.

If you have the reading list open in another tab, you will need to refresh it in order to see the new item.

Remember to publish the list once you have finished making changes so that any new items are visible to your students, and to trigger a review of your changes by Library staff.

Access Library Catalogue Plus

Adding a chapter of a book from Library Catalogue Plus

  1. Search for the book on Library Catalogue Plus.
  2. Click on the book title to open the item record.
  3. Click on the bookmark tool browser extension (a small square with the word ‘talis’ on it). Browser extensions usually appear to the right of the address bar in your web browser.
  4. Quickly check that the information presented on the bookmarking form looks correct. NB at present the information you see will only relate to the whole book, and not to the chapter.
  5. Towards the bottom of the bookmarking form, you will see a dropdown labelled Add field. This can be used to add extra fields to the form. Set the dropdown to Has part (chapter, article, etc.) and click Add.
  6. A new tab will be added to the bookmarking form comprising two fields – Resource Type and Title. You will enter information relating to the specific chapter here (note that the information relating to the book is now in a separate tab called Is part of Book). Set the Resource Type to Chapter.
  7. In the Title field, type in the title of the chapter you want to add.
  8. Using the Add field dropdown, add the following additional fields and populate them using information from the book itself or from a reliable online source.
    • Author (enter the chapter author here. If no chapter author is specified, enter the author of the book).
    • Pages (please add the start and end page of the relevant chapter. These values may be used by staff in the Library to inform digitisation of the selected chapter, and they also signpost the relevant content to your students).
    • Date of publication. In most cases, this will be the same as the publication date of the book, but adding it against the chapter as well means that your students will be able to see this information on the reading list entry.
  9. Click Create & Add to List.
  10. Check that the correct reading list is selected in the Add to list dropdown.
  11. Specify whether you want the item to appear at the top or at the bottom of the list (or at the top or bottom of a specific section, which can be selected from a separate dropdown).
  12. Set the importance tag (key, recommended or further) for the item.
  13. If required, add a Note for student and/or Note for library in the relevant fields.
  14. Click Ok.

If you have the list open in another tab, you will need to refresh it in order to see the new item.

Remember to publish the list once you have finished making changes so that any new items are visible to your students, and to trigger a review of your changes by Library staff.

Access Library Catalogue Plus

Adding a journal article from Articles Plus

  1. Search for the article on Articles Plus.
  2. Click on the article title in the search results to open the item record.
  3. Click on the bookmark tool browser extension (a small square with the word ‘talis’ on it). Browser extensions usually appear to the right of the address bar in your web browser. If you have not already installed the bookmark tool, please see the section on Adding the bookmark tool for guidance.
  4. Note that the information in the bookmarking form is split across two tabs. Information relating to the article itself can be found on the Article tab. Information relating to the journal containing the article can be found on the Is part of journal tab. Quickly check that the information on both tabs looks correct.
  5. Assuming the article is available electronically, ensure that the Online Resource tick box is ticked.
  6. Click Create & Add to List.
  7. Check that the correct reading list is selected in the Add to list dropdown.
  8. Specify whether you want the item to appear at the top or at the bottom of the list (or at the top or bottom of a specific section, which can be selected from a separate dropdown).
  9. Set the importance tag (key, recommended or further) for the item.
  10. If required, add a Note for student and/or Note for library in the relevant fields.
  11. Click Ok.

If you have the list open in another tab, you will need to refresh it in order to see the new item.

Remember to publish the list once you have finished making changes so that any new items are visible to your students, and to trigger a review of your changes by Library staff.

Access Articles Plus

Bookmarking items outside the Library's collection

You can also use the bookmark tool to add web-based resources outside of the Library's collections, including YouTube videos, open access works, reports, webpages and podcast episodes. The video below explains how to do this.

Adding specific types of external content to your reading list

Adding a webpage

  1. Navigate to the webpage you want to add.
  2. Click on the bookmark tool browser extension (a small square with the word ‘talis’ on it). Browser extensions usually appear to the right of the address bar in your web browser. If you have not already installed the bookmark tool, please see the section on Adding the bookmark tool for guidance.
  3. Quickly check that the information presented on the bookmarking form looks correct. The Resource type should automatically default to Webpage, but if it does not, you can set this manually.
  4. If applicable, consider adding fields such as Date and Author using the Add field dropdown.
  5. Click Create & Add to List.
  6. Check that the correct reading list is selected in the Add to list dropdown.
  7. Specify whether you want the item to appear at the top or at the bottom of the list (or at the top or bottom of a specific section, which can be selected from a separate dropdown).
  8. Set the importance (key, recommended or further) of the item.
  9. If applicable, add a Note for student and/or Note for library in the relevant fields.
  10. Click Ok.

If you have the reading list open in another tab, you will need to refresh it in order to see the new item.

Remember to publish the list once you have finished making changes so that any new items are visible to your students, and to trigger a review of your changes by Library staff.

Adding audio/visual content

  1. Navigate to the audio/video content you want to add (e.g. a YouTube video).
  2. Click on the bookmark tool browser extension (a small square with the word ‘talis’ on it). Browser extensions usually appear to the right of the address bar in your web browser. If you have not already installed the bookmark tool, please see the section on Adding the bookmark tool for guidance.
  3. Quickly check that the information presented on the bookmarking form looks correct. The Resource type should automatically default to Audio-visual document, but if it does not, you can set this manually.
  4. If applicable, consider adding fields such as Date and Author using the Add field dropdown.
  5. Click Create & Add to List.
  6. Check that the correct reading list is selected in the Add to list dropdown.
  7. Specify whether you want the item to appear at the top or at the bottom of the list (or at the top or bottom of a specific section, which can be selected from a separate dropdown).
  8. Set the importance (key, recommended or further) of the item.
  9. If applicable, add a Note for student and/or Note for library in the relevant fields.
  10. Click Ok.

If you have the reading list open in another tab, you will need to refresh it in order to see the new item.

Remember to publish the list once you have finished making changes so that any new items are visible to your students, and to trigger a review of your changes by Library staff.

Adding importance tags

When adding items to a reading list, you will need to set their importance. Importance tags help students to differentiate between key, recommended, or further reading, enabling them to prioritise their reading. The importance tag assigned to a given item also informs Library purchasing decisions.

The video below shows how to add importance tags to items on your reading list.

Organising and annotating your reading list

Sections

To structure your reading list, you can organise it by week, topic, importance or resource type using sections. Sections form the basis for the table of contents, so a carefully considered structure can help your students to navigate the list and find specific content more easily.

As well as creating individual sections, you can also nest your content by creating sections within sections. A nested structure is reflected in the list's table of contents through indentation, so nesting sections can be an effective way of indicating relationships between topics and subtopics.

To add a section to your reading list, hover over the desired location and click ADD SECTION.

Further information on using sections is available on our best practice for reading lists webpage.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs can be added anywhere on your reading list and can be used to provide additional information, context or direction for your students.

To add a paragraph, hover over the desired location and click ADD PARAGRAPH.

The video below demonstrates the use of sections and paragraphs.

Notes for students

These can be added against specific items on a reading list and could be used to provide further detail or guidance about the item in question. For example, "This resource provides an overview of the subject as well as a critique of the key text for this topic".

To add a note for your students, click the three dots icon next to the item you wish to add a note to and select Note for students.

The video below contains further information about student notes, including examples.

Notes for the Library

These notes are only visible to Library staff and other academics. They should be used primarily to provide specific information to the Library. For example, "Must be the 5th edition".

To add a note for the Library, click the three dots icon next to the item you wish to add a note to and select Note for library.

Moving single items

There are three ways to move a single item on a reading list:

  • Use the double-ended arrow to the right of the item to drag and drop it to a new location. This method is best used for smaller moves where the start and end location are both visible on the page, since scrolling to a new location while dragging an item can be tricky.
  • Click the three dots icon to the right of the item and select Cut, then hover over the desired destination and click PASTE. This method works well for both smaller and larger moves as it allows you to scroll to the new location without needing to drag the item.
  • To move an item up or down by one step at a time, click on the three dots icon to the right of the item and select Move up or Move down. NB if an item is at the bottom of a section and you move it down, it will be placed just below that section. If an item is just above a section and you move it down, it will drop into the new section, becoming the first item in that section (after the section title and description).

The video below demonstrates how to move items on your reading list.

Moving sections

If you are moving a whole section of your reading list, you can click the three dots to the right of the section heading and select Cut, then hover over the desired destination and click PASTE.

Publishing your list

Any changes you make will be saved automatically. To send those changes for review by library staff and to ensure that your students see them, click the ‘publish’ button. It is recommended that you only ‘publish’ once at the end of each editing session.

When you publish your list, two things happen:

  1. Library staff are notified of any changes, prompting them to check Library availability of newly added items and, where necessary, make purchases or arrange access.
  2. The changes you have made become visible to students on the live reading list.

When the reading list system detects unpublished changes, a yellow banner appears at the top of the reading list alerting you to this, and prompting you to publish.

Because Library staff are sent a notification each time the list is published, we ask that you make your changes in batches where possible, and only click publish when you have made all of your planned changes.

Please keep in mind that list publication is required even after minor changes such as adding a student note, changing an importance tag, or moving an item. If you do not publish changes, your students will not see them reflected on the live reading list.
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