We are warming up for the annual ‘rollover’ of ReadingLists@UCL.  Are you prepared?

Each summer the reading lists have a new copy made for the September term, much like the Moodle snapshot.  This year the rollover is scheduled for Thursday 7th July 2016.  In brief:

• Reading lists for 2015-16 will have an exact copy made for 2016-17, which will publish immediately
• Students and staff will not experience any break in access to their reading lists
• Editing rights remain consistent, so academics and teaching support staff will be able to edit the new lists straight away
• The old version of the reading list (2015-16) will archive, which means it will vanish from public view but can be found and re-used in future years if needed.

Please note:

• Anything not published on a reading list will not be copied onto the new list: publish any changes before 6th July, if you wish them to be copied forward.
• If you would like reading lists removed – for example if a course is no longer being taught – please email us any time
• Similarly, if any courses have updated titles or course codes, email us to request the details are updated.

Do you need a refresher on how to edit and manage your lists, ready for September?  Drop in to our office on a Wednesday afternoon for summer training, or the ReadingLists@UCL webpages also have guides, FAQs and contact details.

• Need a quick reminder on how to update your online reading list for next year?
• Would a ‘getting started’ session help you get ahead?
• Or do you just want a few tips on setting up a list?

Drop in to the TLS office on a Wednesday afternoon 2.30-4.30pm from June 1st until October 2016.  We will be on hand to trouble-shoot problems, walk you through linking a reading list to Moodle, or just set aside some time to set up an online list with someone on hand to help if you get stuck!

Our office is in UCL Senate House, room 318.  If you aren’t familiar with this UCL Library Hub, ask at the UCL Senate House reception desk, or call the TLS office on 020 3549 5729 (internal x65729).

When you request a new online reading list we always offer a 1:1 orientation (just 20 minutes or so) at your own computer, to get you started.  Hazel and Pam also regularly visit Teaching Committee or Departmental meetings for a 10-minute introduction or demonstration.  Do get in touch to request training, demonstrations, or just for more information!

As Term 2 begins, comfort yourself: even glam rock stars have reading lists.

A list of David Bowie’s top 100 books was published on his website in 2013. His reading list is heavy on 20th centry classics, from Capote’s ‘In cold blood’ to Stoppard, but also has a nod to the ancient (Dante and Homer) and the mystic, with Levi’s ‘Transcendental Magic’.  That last one isn’t held in UCL library, but many of the others are: take a look and enjoy reading the literature that helped shape this artist.

You can contribute your views on Bowie’s book choices using the Twitter hashtag #bowiebookclub – or, of course, set up your own reading list to inspire your students!

* TLSS: the Teaching & Learning Support Section, part of UCL Library Services.

* TLSS: the Teaching & Learning Support Section, part of UCL Library Services.

We are delighted to report that 45% of current taught courses at UCL now have an online reading list.  This means the library has achieved its target figure for 2014-15, as set out in the UCL Library Services Strategy, 2015-18.

Even better is the response from students, who enjoy having all their resources easily accessible and in one place.  Lists can contain full text readings, film clips, Lynda.com training videos, links to professional bodies… or simply further reading in a traditional bibliography format.  Comments such as ‘Can I have a list for my other modules?’ are not uncommon.

Some departments have been quick to seize this easy way of improving student satisfaction:  Political Science, the Development Planning Unit and the Institute of Neurology were among the first departments to create online lists for all their current taught courses and reach 100%.  The MAPS faculty engaged as a whole, resulting in terrific coverage across its departments in a short space of time.

A new feature this year has been to not just link a reading list to its relevant Moodle course, but to embed readings into the body of Moodle.  We have also added more citation styles, as requested by departments.  Can you think of other developments you would like to see for your reading lists?  We welcome feedback.

Our library target for 2015-16 is for 55% of modules to have an online reading list.  New UCL students are already asking for reading lists for their upcoming courses, so don’t hesitate to get in touch, request a list, or drop into a summer session to find out more!

The annual ‘rollover’ of ReadingLists@UCL is nigh.  Each summer the reading lists have a new copy made for the September term, much like the Moodle snapshot.  This year the rollover is scheduled for Wednesday 15th July.  In brief:

• Reading lists for 2014-15 will have an exact copy made for 2015-16, which will publish immediately
• Students and staff will not experience any break in access to their reading lists
• Editing access remains consistent, so academics and teaching support staff will be able to edit the new lists straight away
• The old version of the reading list (2014-15) will archive, which means it will vanish from public view but can be found and re-used in future years if needed.

Please note:

• Anything not published on a reading list will not be copied onto the new list: do publish any changes if you wish it to be copied over
• If you would like reading lists removed – for example if a course is no longer being taught – please email us and we will do this straight away
• Similarly, if any courses have updated titles or course codes, email us to request the details are updated.

Need a refresher on how to edit and manage your lists ready for September?  Drop in to one of our summer sessions, or the ReadingLists@UCL webpages also have guides, FAQs and contact details.

Earlier this year I met with the MAPS Faculty Library Committee to give them a quick introduction to ReadingLists@UCL.  The composition of this meeting was really good because as well as academics the attendees included the Subject Librarian, the StAR (Student Academic Representative), academic/student liaison and an administrator, so I could showcase the benefits of the online reading lists to all of these audiences.

Some departments in MAPS find that they have little need for books in their teaching so this was the perfect opportunity to illustrate that a reading list does not have to be stuffed full of references to books and journals, but instead can be as little as a few links to relevant professional organisations that students need to be aware of. The Q&A session was followed by a brief demo of what reading lists could contain, where I emphasised various online resources, not just books.

Following on from the meeting we were tasked with putting together a short ‘crib sheet’ for the department. We already have the online ‘Quick Guide’, but we tailored another guide for the MAPS faculty and included an example of how to link to a website, how to link reading lists to Moodle blocks and how to install the Bookmarking Button. The resulting MAPS Getting Started with online lists guide is now online.

We further customised the guide with a list of suggested resources which could be useful, particularly on courses where reading lists aren’t commonly used.  Being familiar with the subject areas, Robert Tomaszewski, the Subject Librarian, was very happy to contribute these suggested resources.

This list of suggested resources is also presented as an online list to illustrate how it works in practice.  MAPS lecturers can include the resources in their own reading lists, or link to the guide.  For example, there is a guide to avoiding plagiarism, or you might prefer to include the link to UCL’s current plagiarism guidelines for students, as some other academics have also done on their reading lists.

MAPS have chosen to recommend that their lecturers create their own lists. We set the lists up, send editing access to the tutor and offer a quick orientation, so they can start managing their list. Take a look at an interesting list.

This strategy has worked fantastically well for the Faculty, with resulting successes so far of 99 out of 103 courses for Mathematics (96%) having an online reading list, whilst Statistical Science have reached the magic 100%. A similar approach could be taken by other Departments with low or relatively low take-up of reading lists, with suggested resources tailored to each department.

There are of course many alternative approaches to increase the number of reading lists and improve the student experience.  Please email us for further information, or to request a ReadingLists@UCL poster, aimed at either students or staff, which you can customise for your department.

A recent article in the E-learning Champions newsletter (managed by the E-Learning Environments) highlighted an imaginative exemplar of blended learning at UCL: ‘The Connected approach, Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Ophthalmic Practice’.

This Ophthalmology programme is delivered by the the Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital and is aimed at both students and professionals in ophthalmic units. Their programme poster explains more about this engaging and interactive course.

One of the tools employed is an online reading list, divided into different topics with a guidance note at the top.  Some readings are specific articles, digitised under UCL’s CLA licence.  The reading list can link to the relevant Moodle course, or readings can be embedded into the body of Moodle.

The list being Open Access makes this delivery perfect for those of the programme cohort who are not traditional UCL students.

Many UCL courses have an online reading list to guide you in your study. Reading lists are a tailored list of resources which may include links to full text readings, library books or TV clips, which you can access online anywhere, any time.

Your reading list is an essential tool to help you revise for your exams.  It might contain readings which you have read in preparation for class, and they are a quick and easy way for you to look back over them when doing your revision.  Many readings might be key texts which link out to full-text e-journal articles, or e-books.  Where books are in the library, you will see links to the library catalogue (Explore) so you can instantly check whether the book is on the shelf and place a reservation if it is on loan.

Where your tutors have written notes to guide you, or tags to show which resources are essential reading, these will also prove helpful as you go back over the resources you have used this year.   You can sort the list by importance and refer back to any of your own notes that you may have added (remember to sign in first!).  Perhaps most importantly, you can export the readings into a different citation format, invaluable when referencing your sources.

Access the reading lists for your courses directly through Moodle via a link in the ‘Library resources’ block (where you can also see any relevant Online Exam Papers).  Search the ReadingLists@UCL homepage by module code or title, or by your lecturer’s name if they have made this available. You can also browse by department or search Explore, the library catalogue.

You can find more information on the student information webpage for reading lists and if you need any help do please contact your Subject or Site Librarian!

Good luck!