Staff Guide to Reading Lists Online

Reading Lists Online (RLO) is a reading list management system that addresses the resource needs of students, academic staff and library staff.

The University requires that module coordinators ensure all taught modules for the 2020/21 academic year have an up-to-date reading list submitted for review by the Library in Reading Lists Online for the start of the relevant semester.

Benefits for Academic Staff

RLO allows academic staff to find and collect resources, organise them into reading lists, and submit them for review by the Library (for book purchasing purposes), with the library then publishing the lists so students can see them.

• Most resources can be added to a reading list with just a few clicks.
• The system can usually capture a bibliographic description of a resource from a reliable source such as the Library catalogue or a journal database, thereby minimising effort, saving time and ensuring accuracy
• Staff can annotate their lists to provide notes for students and library staff.
• A dashboard provides feedback to academic staff about how many times items on their list are used

For Students

Reading Lists Online makes it easier for students to find and locate resources.

• Students now have a single online interface, integrated with Moodle, where they can find all of their reading lists.
• Students can click directly through from their list to the full-text of articles and e-books.
• Integration with the LSBU library catalogue ensures the online reading list shows up-to-date details about the location and availability of printed copies.
• Students can add notes and reading intentions visible only to them to their online reading lists.

For the Library

The accuracy of items bookmarked from reliable bibliographic databases reduces ambiguity about the list creator's intentions. 

The consistent approach to reading lists across the University leads to quicker and more reliable purchasing.

Integration with the Library catalogue and other systems means the Library can identify the items for which provision is inadequate more quickly. There is no longer a reviews queue.

Demand for a title can be assessed university-wide and not just on a module-by-module basis.