Reading lists: a guide for academic staff

Items are added to reading lists using a Bookmarklet extension which sits in your internet browser. This allows you to easily add items from a range of trusted sources such as the library catalogue, e-journals and websites, in a single click.

The extension is currently available for Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Safari.

How to add the bookmarklet extension

• Instructions for installing and using a bookmarklet extension on Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Safari
• Once you have installed the extension, select it in your bookmark toolbar and chose 'London Metropolitan University' as your institution.

How to add items using the bookmarklet extension

• Navigate to the Library catalogue or other resource catalogue and locate an item you would like to bookmark for a reading list.
• Select the Talis extension icon in your browser.
• You will then be prompted to log into your London Metropolitan University account using your standard login credentials.
• Talis will attempt to pull through all data associated with the bookmarked item. Check the data and enter any applicable missing or incorrect fields. Once done so, you can either chose to select:
  • Create - which will store the bookmark for future reading lists
  • Create and Add to List - from which you can chose from any reading lists that you have been assigned ownership of, chose the placement of the record, as well as its importance and any further details.

How to add items manually

• If you are unable to add a bookmark from the bookmarklet extension, you can add the details manually.
• Go to My bookmarks, click Add and Add manually.
• Fill in the details and select either Create to save the bookmark for later or Create and Add to List to add it a reading list.

View your saved bookmarks

• Log into Talis and click My Bookmarks.  
• Click the three vertical dots next to an item for further options.

Log into Talis and select My Lists.  Here you can create new reading lists and edit lists you've created or been invited to edit.

How to create a new list

• Go to My Lists and select Create a New List.
• Enter the following:
  • List name: Enter the module code and module name
  • Description: It is not necessary to enter anything here
  • Hierarchy: Search for the module code and select from the drop-down menu
    • Anticipated student numbers: Depending on the time of the year, the system will populate this field with the estimated number of students likely to be taking this module. It is possible to manually edit this figure.
    • If you need to add/edit hierarchy or students numbers later, once you have created the list, go to the list and click Edit > Hierarchy and student numbers.
  • Year: enter the academic year, eg 2020-2021
• Click Create List.
  • You may be asked to enter the name of the list owner. This should be the person within the School who is recognised as having responsibility for the module and the ownership of the reading list.
• This brings you to a fresh list view, ready for items to be added.
• It tells you that the list is empty and the list is unpublished.

Organise your reading list into sections

• Choose the link to adding a section. This can be called 'Week One' or given the name of a theme - it is up to you.
• You can add supporting text in the Description field if required.
• Continue to add as many sections as are necessary.

Add bookmarked items

• Follow the instructions to bookmark items.
• In a section, select Add resource. This will show a window containing your most recently bookmarked items.
• Choose the resource you want to add and select Add to list. Click Show more to open up the window to display a greater number of bookmarked items.
• Hover above or below an item in your list to see the options to Add resource or Add section to continue to build your list.

Set importance

• When you first add an item, you will see 'Importance not set' in red text.
• Use the drop-down option to set it to either Core or Additional Reading.
• You can enter an item multiple times, e.g. a textbook may need to be read every week, so it can appear in multiple sections.

Reorder or delete

• Re-order your list by clicking on the three vertical dots to the right of an item or section and selecting Move up or Move down.
• The vertical two-headed up and down arrow symbol does the same job - click and drag the item to its new location.
• Delete an item or a section by clicking on the three vertical dots to the right and selecting Delete.

Add a note for students

• You can add a note about an item that will be visible to students, for example to give them page numbers to read or giving context for the reading.
• Click the three vertical dots next to an item, and select Note for students.

Book chapters and journal articles can be digitised and the PDFs added to your reading list. This is particularly helpful to students when the library may not have multiple copies of printed items.

Instructions on requesting scans and digitised copies of materials, including copyright restrictions, can be found here: Scans and digitisation

Up to now, your reading list has been displaying the banner message: Unpublished changes! Your changes have been saved, but not published.

Once you are happy with your list and you have set an importance for each item,  it can be published by clicking Publish. This makes the list visible to the students and sends a notification to Library Services to check for any items not already held in stock.

If you make any changes to your list, you will need to select Publish again in order to make changes visible.

Your reading list in Weblearn

First ensure that your list is published and you have set the module code in the hierarchy.

Your reading list link will appear in the module content area of Weblearn.

• Click on your list. 
• It should automatically load your list.  
• If it does not automatically find your list, it will give you the option to search via list name, module code, creator or year. 
  • Search for the list and then select Embed list.

Add a section of a reading list

If you have created a module list with sections (e.g. week one, week two) you can link to just that section if you wish.

1. In the content area of your Weblearn module, click the plus button (+) where you would like to add your reading list section.
2. Click More tools.

3. Click Reading list link.

4. The reading list tool will load. Your list for that module may automatically be found.  If not, it will give you the option to search via list name, module code, creator or year.

5.  To add just a specific section, click Select section. It will then show you all the sections within that list. Select Embed section next to your chosen one. Repeat from step 1 to embed more sections. 

6. Close the window and return to Weblearn. If you don’t immediately see the reading list section, click refresh on your browser and it should appear. Check that it is visible to students.