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Come for the owl postcards, stay for the range of services

By Nick Forbes, on 3 May 2022

Ever asked yourself the question, “How can I make my course readings accessible”?

Well, this is exactly the question the TLS team set out to answer at the lunchtime marketplace session at the recent 2022 UCL Education Conference.

We were thrilled to be able to attend the event, as this was a fantastic opportunity for us to get out there and talk to people about our services, whether it’s ReadingLists@UCL, course readings digitisation, or our copyright support services. As a user-focused team it’s essential that we engage with the academic community to understand how we can best support their teaching and learning activities. So this was also a brilliant opportunity to hear from lots of different staff and students, and learn more about how we can support them in getting the most out of their teaching.

A particularly pleasant surprise was the sheer range of people who came to speak to us – and the range of topics they were interested in! We had queries from UCL academics and PhD students about setting up reading lists, many of whom wanted to know more about how to replace document-based reading lists with online lists. As well as talking them through it, we ran a couple of demos of the ReadingLists@UCL service on our laptop. This is something we’re always happy to do, so get in touch if you want to arrange a virtual session!

We also had lots of queries about copyright issues. These mostly came either from academics teaching PhD research skills, or from PhD students interested in the copyright rules affecting their theses (e.g. the copyright status of photographs they wanted to include). We explained the tailored support and advice we could offer in this area, and our Copyright for PHD Students leaflets went like hotcakes!

Someone asked us whether films held on DVD can be converted to streams for inclusion on online reading lists (answer: they usually can!). And lots of people just wanted to know more about what TLS did in general – so we were happy to tell them. We also had a really interesting discussion with a couple of students about accessibility, and the many ways TLS services support this important area.

So in all this was a brilliant opportunity to get out and about and speak to people, promote awareness of TLS and our services, and learn more about what’s on people’s minds when it comes to things like course readings and copyright. The pandemic has made it harder to engage with the academic community – while at the same time increasing the need for support for remote learning. So being able go to an in-person event again was brilliant. Looking forward to the next one!

Drop-in for reading list help

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 4 September 2018

Changes to module codes and new Moodle have prompted quite a few questions this month.

If you would like a hand sorting through how this affects your reading list, or would just like a reminder on how to edit your list, then come to our Wednesday afternoon drop-ins which continue as usual in the TLS office.  Each Wednesday, Pam or Hazel will be available from 2.30 – 4.30 pm to:

This way!

  • Walk you through getting started
  • Set up a new reading list and add readings
  • Troubleshoot any issues, such as linking from Moodle to your reading list
  • Give a quick refresher if you haven’t used the lists in a while
  • Provide a quiet seat to get away from your email and telephone to organise your readings!

 

The TLS office is in UCL Senate House, room 318.  If you aren’t familiar with this UCL Library Hub, come to the South block, third floor and ask at the UCL reception desk; or call the TLS office on 020 3549 5729 (internal x65729).

If Wednesday doesn’t suit, or you would like to set your office computer up for working on reading lists, then we are very happy to visit you in your department: do get in touch to arrange a visit!

 

Reading Lists Rollover

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 26 June 2018

Some rights reserved CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/110342926@N07/12779910463/ ; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

‘Perfect Gwith Barrels’ by Philip Male

 

In TLS we are preparing for the annual ‘rollover’ of ReadingLists@UCL. This is our final task of the academic year: the CLA report of UCL’s digitised readings was sent in June, the majority of teaching has finished, and the exam period too is largely over.

 

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 the evening of Tuesday 17th July 2018.  From about 5pm that day:

  • Reading lists for 2017-18 will have an exact copy made for 2018-19, which will publish immediately
  • The old version (2017-18) will archive, which means it will disappear from public view but can be found and re-used in future years if needed
  • Students will have continuous access to their reading lists: there is no down time for viewing lists
  • Editing rights remain constant, so list editors are able to edit the new lists as soon as they appear
  • Lists already set up as 2018-19 will be unaffected by the rollover

 

Please note:

  • Unpublished changes will not copy forward into the new list: please publish your lists before 17th July if you wish your updates to be carried forward.
  • We suggest you stop editing reading lists before 5pm on 17th July, and continue editing when you can see it has the 2018-19 date stamp – certainly from the morning of 18th July, if not sooner.
  • TLS are aware of the new module codes being introduced and will begin updating the reading list module codes from around 19th July.  More details in our blog post on this.
  • To have old courses archived, new lists set up, or current module names amended, please email us your requests!

 

Do you need a refresher on how to edit and manage your lists?  Drop in to our office in Senate House on Wednesday afternoons, 2.30 – 4.30pm for a quick session.  You could walk away with a new list set up and ready to go, get guidance on how to link to non-standard resources, or find out how to embed reading lists in Moodle.

The ReadingLists@UCL webpages also have guides, FAQs and contact details.

 

UCL E-learning Baseline

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 7 February 2018

Some rights reserved CC BY NC https://www.flickr.com/photos/65172294@N00/8736954584 ; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

‘Tribute to Roger Ebert’ by get directly down

Our colleagues in Digital Eduction have recently been working on updating the UCL E-Learning Baseline.

The e-learning Baseline is now included in the Academic Manual, and offers a best practice template for taught courses at UCL, setting out the minimum expectations of a module.  One of the drivers is to support students who need consistent and clear information on their module, readings and assessments.

The baseline includes a requirement to have a reading list for students and recommends ReadingLists@UCL; it also clarifies that UCL policy is to have reading materials available for students 48 hours before teaching (both in section 5: Resources).

 

Providing consistency across programmes, and clarity of what reading is required, is one of the most positive feedback messages we have had from students about ReadingLists@UCL.  For some modules their reading requirements are spread over a handbook, with sometimes different or additional information in Moodle, and by email: having one consistent place to check makes their life much easier.  This also helps the library ensure books and journals are provided in time, and can translate into good feedback for your module.

Though reading lists themselves don’t have a baseline, we do run ‘Best practice’ sessions for academics.

In a Best Practice Reading Lists session last year we spoke to teaching staff in the Engineering department about recent research around how students use reading lists, and what potential barriers they find in understanding what is required of them, or accessing their essential readings in time.  All barriers are very simple to overcome, for example by using the controlled language provided by the ‘Essential’ ‘Optional’ tags on each reading; and dividing the list into sections by topic or by week needed.  Enriching your list with personal annotations really helps students understand whether you are pointing to a few readings that could be useful, or a seminal text they can’t get by without.  Some academics even like to point to readings they don’t believe have very good arguments, or are based in another library to oblige the student visit another institution: this is also helpful to make clear!

This is the Best Practice reading list of a very few resources used during our session.

Would you like a similar session for your department, or a quick 1:1 to look at your module?  Or would you find a baseline for reading lists a helpful guide?  You can reach us by email, or call or visit the TLS.

 

Drop-in sessions

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 19 January 2018

Wednesday afternoon drop-ins at the TLS office continue as usual.  Each Wednesday, Pam or Hazel will be available from 2.30 – 4.30 pm to:

  • Walk you through getting started
  • Set up a new reading list and add readings
  • Troubleshoot any issues, such as linking to Moodle
  • Give a quick refresher if you haven’t used the lists in a while
  • Provide a quiet seat to get away from your email and telephone to organise your readings!

 

The TLS office is in UCL Senate House, room 318.  If you aren’t familiar with this UCL Library Hub, come to the South block, third floor and ask at the UCL reception desk; or call the TLS office on 020 3549 5729 (internal x65729).

If Wednesday doesn’t suit, or you would like reading lists set up on your office computer or laptop, then we are very happy to visit you in your department: get in touch to arrange a visit!

 

 

Summertime FAQs

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 1 September 2017

Everyone thinks summer is a quiet time in the library, however the TLS is at its most busy!  Along with most academic departments, we are preparing reading materials ready for term start and setting up new reading lists.

We have also had many excellent questions about reading lists.  Some are so useful or universal we thought it would be helpful to share them, along with the answers.

 

Q: I am a Departmental Administrator updating our course information. The titles of some of modules have changed and I wondered who to send the updated information to, so they can be amended on the online Reading Lists?

A: Email any module code / title changes to: readinglists@ucl.ac.uk  This account is checked by more than one person each day: we will update your lists as soon as possible and let you know when they are complete.  If a module code has changed, do also check that the link from Moodle to the reading list still works.

Q: I had some changes on my 2016/17 reading list that I didn’t publish. When the lists rolled forward into 2017/18 those changes were lost. I can’t recall what the changes were and don’t have the references anymore, is there any chance that there is an archived version of the list to look at?

A: I am pleased you asked because it is very easy for us to retrieve archived lists!  We have made the 2016-17 version available again: once you have looked over both versions let us know which one you prefer to keep live and we will archive the other version.

Q: Last year I used the Moodle tool ‘Reading List items’ to embed readings from my reading list more directly into Moodle.  After the Moodle and reading lists roll overs, not all these links are working well.  Do I have to re-embed them all?

A: Some teaching staff find this Moodle tool very helpful, to pinpoint sections or readings for specific weeks. The Moodle and ReadingLists@UCL teams have liaised to create some instructions: ‘Displaying your Reading List in Moodle’. They explain the most basic and stable way of linking from Moodle to reading list, using the ‘Library Resources’ block; they also show the more sophisticated integration, using the ‘Reading Lists Items’ tool.  Finally, there is specific note of Caution ‘What you need to do before each academic year’ which explains how to update any broken links.

 

We hope this helps. If you need help with any of the above or have your own questions, you are welcome to call us any time (020 3549 5729 or internal x65729), email, or drop in to our office in Senate House! The ReadingLists@UCL webpages also have further support and information.

 

Summer drop-in sessions

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 9 August 2017

 

This way!

This way!

Wednesday afternoon drop-ins at the TLS office in Senate House continue each Wednesday, despite the building work in UCL Senate House Hub.

Pam or Hazel will be available from 2.30 – 4.30 pm each Wednesday to:

  • Walk you through getting started
  • Set up new reading lists with you
  • Troubleshooting any issues, such as links to Moodle not working
  • A quick refresher if you haven’t used the lists in a while
  • A quiet seat to get away from your email and telephone, and organise your readings!

 

If you would like to drop by, give us a call on 020 3549 5729 (internal x65729), and we will meet you in reception to guide you to the TLS office! Or get in touch to arrange us to visit you in your office.

 

 

Annual reading list rollover

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 11 July 2017

Summer reading

Summer reading

 

In TLS we are preparing for the annual ‘rollover’ of ReadingLists@UCL.

This is the final task of the academic year for us: the CLA report of UCL’s digitised readings was sent in June, the majority of teaching has finished, and the exam period too has ended.

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 Tuesday 18th July 2017.  In brief:

  • Reading lists for 2016-17 will have an exact copy made for 2017-18, which will publish immediately
  • Students and staff will have continuous access to their reading lists
  • Editing rights remain constant, so academics and teaching support staff are able to edit the new lists straight away
  • The old version of the reading list (2016-17) will archive, which means it will disappear from public view but can be found and re-used in future years if needed
  • Existing 2017-18 lists will be totally unaffected.

Please note:

  • Unpublished changes will not be copied onto the new list: please publish your lists before 18th July if you wish the changes to be carried 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?  Drop in to our office in Senate House on Wednesday afternoons, 2.30 – 4.30pm for a quick session. The ReadingLists@UCL webpages also have guides, FAQs and contact details.

Back by popular demand! Summer drop-in training

By Hazel M Ingrey, on 1 June 2016

  • 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!