RLO: Working with Reading Lists Online

This page covers how to get the most out of reading lists for you and your students.

Designing your reading list in a way that makes it clear what is required and allows students to plan their reading will improve engagement with resources and encourage independent learning. 

5 steps for designing a great reading list:

1. Structure your list into sections (e.g. weekly or by topic/theme) to guide students to relevant reading and help them prioritise their reading.
2. Mark the importance resources so students can see if they are 'Essential' or 'Background' material.
3. Annotate your lists by adding notes explaining why an item has been added or directing students to specific chapters or sections.
4. Include a variety of materials types to address different reading preferences.
5. Publish your list - This will not only make the list visible to your students, it  will also automatically send the list to the Library Resources Team, who will then check the availability of resources and purchase any new materials that are required.

 Activity: Explore our example reading lists for inspiration

• Reading list divided into weekly sections
• Clear instructions given in the introduction
• Annotations made
• Items identified as Essential or Background

• Reading list divided into weekly sections
• Clear instructions given in the introduction
• Annotations made
• Items identified as Essential or Background 
• Digitised copies of relevant book chapters and journal articles availale

• For essential reading, your Library will aim to acquire a multi-access electronic version.
• Single User or Limited User access e-books can be problematic for student access and should be avoided. Your Learning & Teaching Librarian can advise you on which resources are single or restricted licences. 
• Where resources are available in print format only, or with limited electronic access, extracts should be selected for digitisation (one chapter or 10% of a book, one journal article per journal issue), or another title selected. For more information please see the section on Digitisation.
• Where print format is the only option, items should not be made 'Essential'.
• If an RLO is not structured and prioritised, especially in the case of long lists (over 75 items), Subject Librarians will contact academics and ask them to identify 10-15 books that will feature highly in their teaching. These will be checked for ebook availability and the academics will be notified to allow them to decide which items should be made 'Essential'.
• Subject Librarians can also provide advice on alternative resources for the subject area.

Digitisation of print only items

You can use the Request a Review option if you bookmark chapters or articles that are not currently available electronically.  Wherever possible we will digitise these (licences and copyright law permitting).  We recommend you liaise with your Learning & Teaching Librarian if you have any questions regarding resources that need ordering. Alternatively, you can complete the Digitisation Request form linked at the end of this section.

Digitising readings across lists

Digitised readings will have a note to students to explain this.  They may also appear grouped in their own section as pictured below. 

The digitised reading will have been made purposefully for that particular module, and details such as the module code and student numbers will have been recorded for copyright auditing.  Therefore, please do not copy the link across and use it on an RLO for a different module. If you need  a digitised reading for a new RLO, please either add it to the RLO and send it to review or complete the form linked below.

When you have finished adding resources to your reading list, you will need to 'Publish' it.  This section will explain what happens when you click on the option to publish your RLO, and what you can expect next from the library:

• Importance
• Number of items
• Student numbers
• Submit your lists early (8 weeks)
• Check library holdings