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 I can’t recall what the changes were and don’t have the references anymore, is there any chance that there is an archived version of the list to look at?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.

To help departments in their take up of online reading lists, and also promote copyright awareness and good practice, Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) have some dedicated project staff time, this June and July.

We are offering to ‘health check’ Moodle courses: transferring readings from Moodle onto online reading lists, and ensuring digitised readings are copyright complaint by using the CLA licence.   If you think your Moodle module would benefit from a tidy ready for next session, or are setting up a new module and would like our help, do get in touch!

We will also input new reading lists for teaching staff who would like to use online reading lists but don’t have time for the initial set up.

Please be aware that our project staff are only available until July 31^st.  Contact us at readinglists@ucl.ac.uk  and we will complete work on a first come, first served basis!

As usual, we continue to offer 1:1 sessions and Wednesday afternoon drop-ins in Senate House, for getting started or refresher training with reading lists.

Puzzled about how to add digitised readings to your online reading lists for students? Concerned about mysterious pdfs in Moodle?  Or worried about the copyright issues in course readings?

Then worry no more as the Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) are here to help! We offer advice and help to ensure course readings are copyright compliant, using UCL’s CLA licence, and other licencing schemes such as the NLA, and ERA where appropriate. Our course readings service will check readings are legally compliant under one of these licences and add the digitised readings to your online reading list.

To find out more feel free to “drop-in” to TLS (Senate House, room 317, 3^rd floor, South Block) between 2.30-4.30 pm on Wednesdays. Contact us at: library-tlss@ucl.ac.uk. We also have webpages with information at your fingertips about the course readings service that you might find helpful.

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!

This Saturday 21st February Hazel and I took the ReadingLists@UCL advocacy campaign

into the student heartland of the UCLU Education Conference, held this year at the Institute of Child Health.

Our stall gave us the opportunity showcase the highlights and benefits of the online reading lists in a very visual manner that appealed to the attendees.

We showed students that online reading lists allowed them to view readings in different citation styles, or export the citations to Endnote, Reference Manager, Zotero etc. for use in their work; they could sort the resources on their list by ‘type’ or ‘importance’, for example to group all essential readings together.  In essence, they could make the list their own by adding private notes and a reading status for each item.

Many of the students were unaware of the online reading lists and when shown the benefits were very impressed and determined to ask their lecturers why their courses did not have one!   Some students actually discovered they did have a reading list – only they hadn’t been shown how to access it, and were delighted to find they could do so seamlessly from Moodle, as long as the course tutor or administrator had remembered to switch on the Library Resources block.

The Student Academic Representatives, or StARS as they are better known, were particularly impressed. They will be taking back the message that online reading lists are an essential part of the student learning experience at UCL and need to be more widely adopted by departments across UCL.

We reminded the students that ReadingLists@UCL are best for:

• Revising from home
• Clear guidance on essential / recommended readings
• Distance learning courses
• Many full text readings so no need to visit the library…
• …but also, live links to the library catalogue to see if books are on the shelf right now! If not, just click through to reserve books
• Making your own notes on each reading
• Consistency across programmes

For information and FAQs for students, visit www.ucl.ac.uk/library/teaching-support/reading-lists/student

• No list set up? Your course tutor or departmental administrator can request an online reading list, if appropriate for your course
• Ask your Subject or Site Librarian for help
• Email: readinglists@ucl.ac.uk