The following tasks are an essential part of setting up a reading list:
1. The My Reading list system initially inputs the title of your module as the title of your reading list. This often adds the module year as well, which we recommend you remove from the reading list title. In fact, you can change the reading list title to something of your own choice, by typing over the initial title.
2. Create sections in your reading list so you can manage the resources in a meaningful way for students, for example use sections to enable your reading list to reflect the structure of your module, such as module weeks, or simply have Core and supplementary sections.
3. Add tags to each item to mark them as core, recommended or supplementary. Adding tags to each item will help the Library determine how many copies of each item to stock, in the event that the item is not available electronically. It will also inform students as to the relative importance of each item.
4. Avoid direct links to PDFs where possible. We recommend adding web links rather than direct links to PDFs. This is because a direct ink to a PDF document may become out of date as there may be a new updated PDF which could be found on a different link. Adding the web link to the site which provides access to the PDF, means the link should show the latest version of the document.
5. Add your Liaison Librarian as a collaborator to your list. Use the manage collaborators menu to add them. Use this menu to add any module colleagues who will be adding items to the module reading list too.
6. When ready, send your list to the Library (click on the Library Review button to do this) so we can double check we have all the items, and see any digitization requests you have made.
7. Publish your list so your students can see it - click on the Publish button and select the Course students option, which enables students on the relevant module to view the reading list.
This really is up to you, however if you simply have a long list of items with little categorisation or annotation, students may not engage with it too well. At the very least we recommend that you divide your reading list into Core and supplementary sections.
For more information on how to add value to your reading lists, see the Tips for better reading lists video, in the Tips for better reading lists section of this guide.