Answered By: Nadia Woods Last Updated: Jan 08, 2025 Views: 165
There are many ways in which you can use your reading list to communicate with your students to further enhance their experience of your module and teaching sessions.
You can also use your lists to communicate directly with the Library to ensure that they know what resources you need and order them in the right amount and format for you.
Reading Lists are a quick and effective way to help you to:
- Signpost to your students the reading materials they will need for their studies,
- Provide students with further information about your teaching plans and reading materials, and
- Ensure that your students can find and access their reading materials
A reading list’s design will often depend on what is best to suit the teaching on each module, so they may look different in structure from module to module.
When creating your reading list, you can design it to best suit you.
The following tips can help you get the most out of the reading lists you create.
You will find the Navigation bar at the top of your reading list contents. As you scroll down, this bar will remain at the top of your reading list.
There are two main ways to help you find items on your list:
- The Table of Contents menu, and
- The Search bar
Table of Contents menu
You can use the Table of Contents menu for easy navigation between the different sections and subsections of your reading list.
Just open the drop-down menu and select a section or subsection title to jump to that part of your list.
You will be unable to use your ‘Table of Contents’ menu while your list is filtered.
Search bar
The search bar is a mini search engine that helps you find items on your reading list by their title.
Your reading list will filter to show you the items which match the title you wish to find, as well as the section(s) of your reading list that the item is in.
A ‘List filtered by’ bar will appear below your navigation bar when the list is filtered. To clear your Search filter, select the ‘Clear Search’ button.
You will find the filtering options in the Navigation bar at the top of your reading list contents. As you scroll down, this bar will remain at the top of your reading list.
There are two main ways you can filter items on your list, by using:
- The Type menu, and
- The Filter menu
Type menu
You can use the Type menu to filter your reading list to only show items of a particular resource type.
Just open the drop-down menu and select on a Type option to filter your list.
A ‘List filtered by’ bar will appear below your navigation bar when the list is filtered. To quickly clear your filters from your list, select the ‘Clear Filter’ button.
You will be unable to use your ‘Table of Contents’ menu while your list is filtered.
Filter menu
The Filter menu helps you filter your reading list to only show the items which match a specific category.
These options include whether a resource has a particular Format(Physical/Online), Library Note, Digitisation and its status, or Importance assigned to it.
It will also show you how many items match these categories.
Just open the drop-down menu and select on a Filter option to show these items on your list.
A ‘List filtered by’ bar will appear below your navigation bar when the list is filtered. To quickly clear your filters from your list, select the ‘Clear Filter’ button.
You will be unable to use your ‘Table of Contents’ menu while your list is filtered.
Your Navigation bar also has a menu to help you change the citation style of all the resources on your reading list.
Selecting a citation style for your reading list will automatically change all your bookmark titles so they will show in that style of citation.
You can find information on creating reading list bibliographies in Can I create a bibliography of my reading list?
An Internal Note can be added to your reading list to help you communicate anything about your list that you would like the Library to know, to ensure that we can better support you with your module and teaching sessions.
This can be particularly useful if you wish to provide the Library with additional context on the list you have made, your teaching plans, or your students’ needs.
Adding an Internal Note to your list can help you let the Library know:
- Whether Accessible copies of core texts are needed to support a student on a particular module
- Whether there is a specific language in which you need your titles to be available
- Whether a reading list has been made to support the teaching of part of a module, rather than for the module as a whole
- Anything else you would like to communicate about your reading list
An Internal Note differs from Library Notes and Student Notes in that it is used to add a note to a whole list rather than individual items.
As its name suggests, the note is not intended to be viewed by students and is only visible to Reading List Editors and Library staff.
Once saved, the note is visible to the Library on the list itself and in the Reviews interface used by the Reading List Support team during your reading list review.
How to add your Internal Note
- Find and go to your reading list on Reading Lists @Liverpool
- Once you have the editing rights to update your list, you will see your list in edit mode
- Select the ‘Edit’ button in the top right corner of your list
- Select ‘Edit list details’ from the drop-down menu
- A pop-up form will appear containing your list details
- Add your Internal Note to the ‘Internal note’ box and ‘Save’
Library Notes can be used to help you inform the Library about a request you would like fulfilled when your reading list is Reviewed by the Reading List Support team.
They are not visible to students and will be deleted by the Team once actioned.
Adding a Library Note to your items can help you let the Library know about:
- New Titles you are requesting for your module and teaching sessions
- A Specific Format of a title you are requesting
- A New Edition of a title you are requesting
- A resource for which you are having difficulty sourcing a copyright-approved version
- A chapter or article you would like to be digitised, and
- Anything you would like to communicate about a particular resource
For example:
- “17/07/2035: Please check if this is available as an eBook”; or
- “26/01/2035: Please check if there is a newer edition of this title available”
- etc
How to add your Library Note
You can either add your Library Note while creating a new bookmark, using the ‘Create & Add’ form, or you can add one to any bookmark already on your reading list.
To add a Library Note to an item on your list:
- Find and go to your reading list on Reading Lists @ Liverpool
- Once you have the editing rights to update your reading list, you will see your list in edit mode
- Find the item to which you would like to add a Library Note
- Select the Ellipses button next to your item
- Select ‘Note for Library’ in the drop-down menu
- Type your Library Note and ‘Save’
Student Notes can be used to help you provide your students with further information about a resource or your teaching plans for the item.
Adding a Student Note to your items can help you let students know of:
- Any Book Chapters they should read for your module and teaching sessions
- Additional Formats of a title added as separate bookmarks to your list
- Digitised chapters or articles that have been requested and added to your list
- Alternative Editions of a title added to your list, and
- Anything else you would like to communicate about a particular resource
For example:
- “Online video also available on this list”
- “A copy of this chapter is available to view online”
- etc
How to add your Student Note
You can either add your Student Note while creating a new bookmark, using the ‘Create & Add’ form, or you can add one to any bookmark already on your reading list.
To add a Student Note to an item on your list:
- Find and go to your reading list on Reading Lists @ Liverpool
- Once you have the editing rights to update your reading list, you will see your list in edit mode
- Find the item to which you would like to add a Library Note
- Select the Ellipses button next to your resource item
- Select ‘Note for Students’ in the drop-down menu
- Type your Student Note and ‘Save’
You can add an Importance to your resources as you create new bookmarks to add to your reading list, by using the ‘Create & Add to List’ button in your bookmarking extension form.
Assigning your reading list items with an Importance can help you to:
- Inform students of the priority a resource has for your module or teaching sessions, and
- Guide the Library on how best to provide access to your module’s reading materials
If you have already added your bookmarks or would like to change the Importance of your resources, you can assign their Importance on your reading list.
How to assign an Importance to an item on your reading list
- Use the Search bar to find your item by its title
- Select the ‘Importance not set’ button (near your item’s title)
- Select the relevant Importance option from the drop-down menu
- The button name will now show as the Importance you have assigned
You can also follow these steps to change the Importance of a resource, by first selecting the ‘Key’, ‘Recommended’ or ‘Background’ button near your item’s title.
This will reveal the Importances drop-down menu with your other options.
How to know if a resource is missing an Importance
When you publish your reading list, you may receive a pop-up notification to let you know that you have items with an ‘Importance not set’.
If you do not receive this notification, you can also check whether any resources do not have an Importance.
To check whether all your items have an Importance:
- Select the ‘Filter’ button on your navigation bar
- Select ‘Importance not set’ from the drop-down menu
Your reading list will be filtered to only display the items missing an Importance.
You will also be able to see how many of your resources do not have an Importance assigned to them from the number listed in the ‘Filter’ drop-down menu.
*Remember
Any resource that has an ‘Importance not set’ label will be treated as a ‘Recommended’ item during reading list reviews.
You can find more on the Importance definitions in What is the difference between Key, Recommended and Background items in Reading Lists?
*Remember
If you make any changes to your reading list, publish and send it for Review to ensure the Library knows what you need for your module and teaching sessions.
You can find more information on how to get the most from your lists in our Reading Lists guide.
If you have any technical queries, please contact the Reading List Support team.
If you would like help with structuring and designing your list, please contact your Liaison Librarian
Links & Files
- Reading Lists guide Opens in new window
- How do I add books to my reading list from the Library Search? Opens in new window
- How can I update and add bookmarks to an existing reading list? Opens in new window
- How can I structure my reading list with sections? Opens in new window
- How can I use paragraphs to add more information to my reading list? Opens in new window
- Why do I need to add an importance to a reading list item? Opens in new window
- What is the difference between Key, Recommended and Background in Reading Lists? Opens in new window
- How do I ask the Library to review my reading list and order items not in stock? Opens in new window
- Can I create a bibliography of my reading list? Opens in new window
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