This document discusses strategies employed by the University of Reading library to promote the use of online reading lists among faculty and students. It outlines potential barriers to adoption like additional workload. The library aligned reading list creation with information literacy skills, delivered workshops to new faculty, and provided statistics to departments on list usage. Student surveys provided feedback which the library used to develop guidance on annotating lists and dividing readings by level of importance. The goal is to improve engagement with online reading lists and their pedagogical benefits.

1. Video Delivery Partner

2. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTLIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACTCopyright University of Reading
DEVELOPING INFORMATION AND DIGITAL LITERACIES
WITH ONLINE READING LISTS
Strategies for engaging the academic community
Kerry Webb
Arts & Humanities Liaison Team Manager / Course Support Co-ordinator
2
Library

3. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
READING AT READING (THE INEVITABLE STATISTICS)
• 17,000 students
• UK and overseas campuses –
• Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Johannesburg and Iskandar
• The Library -
• Holds over 1 million items in stock
• Is open 24/7 in term time (Main Library, Whiteknights only)
• Employs 140 staff, across the Main Library, Special Collections Service and
Study Advice teams
• Has a team of 17 subject Liaison Librarians, responsible for co-ordinating the
acquisition of reading list materials
3

4. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
• Reading Lists annual survey: limited success in obtaining lists for the Library
• Copyright compliance and the need to streamline our existing processes
• Aligning ourselves with University-wide T&L strategies
• Creating more efficient and effective workflows internally
• Spending our resources budgets in a more targeted manner
• Remaining competitive amongst our peers
4

5. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
POTENTIAL BARRIERS
• Lack of academic engagement
• online reading lists are ‘spoon feeding’ students
• time needed for training on the system
• existing poor submission of reading lists to the Library
• existing limited use of the Library’s scanning service
• project overload
• resistance to making reading lists ‘public’
5

6. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
STRATEGIES EMPLOYED
• Promoting specific advantages at:
• Student level
• Staff level (Library and academic staff)
• University-wide
• Emphasising the pedagogical advantages that online reading lists can offer
• Encouraging early engagement with the system
• Engaging influential champions
6

7. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
PRACTICAL STEPS TAKEN
• Aligning online reading list creation with information and digital literacy skills
• Delivering workshops to staff new to teaching
• Using student survey data to promote good academic practice
• Providing statistical information to School Directors of T&L to encourage good
practice
• Exploring differing perspectives
• Developing support materials for staff and students to encourage further
engagement
7

8. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
8
PRACTICAL STEPS: IN MORE DETAIL

9. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
INFO LIT & SPREADING THE WORD
• Aligning online reading list development with information and digital literacy
skills
• Effective Reading Lists guidelines developed and promoted to all Schools
• Presentations delivered to relevant groups, including Boards of Study and
School e-Learning Co-ordinators
• Providing specific examples of how Talis functionality can be employed to
encourage skills and attributes outlined in established info and digital lit models
• Promotion of an example reading list to illustrate this in practice
‘Using online reading lists to develop information and digital literacies’
9

10. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
GETTING THEM EARLY
• Delivering workshops to staff new to teaching as part of the University’s
compulsory HEA accredited Programme
10

11. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
SEEKING OPINION
11
2nd Year undergraduates
• Find the length of some lists
‘overwhelming’
• Would like some guidance on the
difference between ‘core and essential’
‘recommended’ and ‘suggested’ reading
• Find annotations / guidance on the
relevance of cited texts helpful I would benefit from
guidance on how to
use certain texts,
perhaps sub headings
some guidance between…
‘core and essential would be
useful’ / ‘recommended and
suggested’
‘lots of secondary
reading can make it
difficult to know which
are most important’

12. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
USING STUDENT SURVEY DATA
12
• 3rd Year undergraduates
• Appreciate a range of texts to chose
from
• Are generally happy at interpreting what
is meant by ‘essential’ and
‘recommended’
• Concerned over currency of some cited
editions
the extensive secondary
list is useful for
essays/exams
lists are old or its not clear it’s a
chapter in a book, and the book title
isn’t given
I feel divisions on
lecture topics could
also be useful
I would rather have a wide range of books to explore

13. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
LIES, DAMNED LIES…
• Providing statistical information to School/Departmental Directors of T & L
• Reporting on:
• Average number of items per list, per year group
• Number of lists published / in draft
• Links to our Effective Reading Lists guidelines
• Number of scans and how these were accessed
• Links to guidance on placing a digitisation request and info on the Library’s
scanning service
• Page views per list to illustrate student engagement
13

14. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
14
SEEING IT
FROM BOTH
SIDES
• Exploring differing
perspectives
• Student focus groups
and surveys
• An open session for
academics on the
pedagogic value of
online reading lists

15. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
15
HELP AND SUPPORT
Simultaneously developing online guides and screencasts for students and staff

16. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
REFLECTIONS AND NEXT STEPS
• Improve academic engagement
• Encourage students to engage with their Talis lists
• Further develop our communications strategy
• Promote dashboard functionality to academic staff
• Measure impact
• Celebrate success!
16

17. LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT
17
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING
email: k.j.webb@reading.ac.uk

18. Video Delivery Partner