Reading Lists Online (RLO) is a reading list management system that addresses the resource needs of students, academic staff and library staff. The new system provides a single interface where academic staff can create reading lists to order library materials for their modules, and where everyone can view them.
The University requires that module coordinators ensure all taught modules for the 2025/26 academic year have an up-to-date reading list submitted to the Library for purchase for the start of the relevant semester.
Benefits for Academic Staff
- RLO allows academic staff to find and collect resources, organise them into reading lists, and publish the lists so students can see them.
- The system can usually capture a bibliographic description of a resource from a reliable source such as the Library Discovery Tool or a journal database, thereby minimising effort, saving time and ensuring accuracy.
- Staff can annotate their lists to provide notes for students and library staff.
- A dashboard provides feedback to academic staff about how many times items on their list are used
For Students
- Students now have a single online interface, integrated with Moodle, where they can find all of their reading lists.
- Students can click directly through from their list to the full text of articles and e-books.
- Students can add notes and reading intentions visible only to them to their online reading lists.
For the Library
- The consistent approach to reading lists across the University leads to quicker and more reliable purchasing.
- Integration with the Library catalogue and other systems means the Library can identify the items for which provision is inadequate more quickly. There is no longer a reviews queue.
- Demand for a title can be assessed university-wide and not just on a module-by-module basis.
