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Online Reading Lists: a guide for Academic Staff

A guide to using the Talis Online Reading Lists system for academic staff

The Action Bar

The Action Bar appears on your online reading list wherever you move your cursor, and it indicates where you are able to add content:

  • Add Resource - use this to add a recommended reading or viewing from your 'My Bookmarks' section
  • Add Paragraph - use this to add a text box into your reading list
  • Add Section - sections can be used to group resources by topic or weekly reading. For more information, please see section 4 of this guide: Organising your list.

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Adding recommended resources to your online Reading List

Click on the tabs above for guidance on adding specific types of resource.

Adding books to your reading list

There are two ways to add books to your online reading list:

  • collecting or bookmarking using the Bookmark Browser Extension
  • using the Quick Add search via the Action Bar in your online reading list

See guidance on both in the sections below.


Using the Bookmark Browser Extension

1. Ensure that the Bookmark Browser Extension is added to your web browser

For more help, please look visit the page 'Adding the Bookmark Button to your web browser'.

2. Find the book that you want to recommend

We recommend that you use the Library's Enterprise search to find books, and ebooks, as this will automatically link Library availability information to your online reading list.



If the book that you want to recommend is not yet in the Library, you can use the Bookmark Browser Extension to save information from Amazon, Google Books and publisher's websites. When the Library checks and Reviews your list, we will purchase items which are not yet in stock, and let you know if there are any queries.

3. Use the Bookmark Browser Extension to save information about the article to 'My Bookmarks'

Click the Bookmark Browser Extension in your web browser. This should display an online Reading Lists screen which has captured details of the book. Click 'Create' to save this information to your 'My Bookmarks' area.

Note that print and e-books have separate entries on the catalogue. These can be merged into one entry on your reading list. See our FAQ for instructions on how to do this:

4. Add saved information from 'My Bookmarks' to your online reading list

In your online reading list, use the Action Bar to navigate to the section of the list where you'd like the book to appear. Click 'Add Resource' and either select the book from your recent bookmarks, or use the search box to find a bookmarked item.

5. Add an Importance

Select Essential, Recommended or Further reading from the dropdown list next to your newly-added resource. This will help the Library to purchase enough copies of the book.

Watch this short video on adding a book to an online reading list using the Bookmark Browser Extension
Note that since this video was recorded there has been change to the appearance of the details captured by the extension tool, but it still works in the same way.

Using the Quick Add search on the Action Bar

1. In your online Reading List navigate to the section of the list you want to add the book to.

Hover of the list and click on click 'Add Resource' on the Action Bar.

2. Search for the book in the 'Add Resource' pop-up

Type the title of the book in the search box. This uses Nielsen Book Data to find books by title.

3. Select the book you want to add

Click the title of the book to expand the information displayed and show details of published editions, as well as their Library availability. Library availability is displayed with a tick ( ) icon.

4. Click the 'Add to list' button

This will add the book to your online Reading List and to your 'My Bookmarks' area. You can add items which are not currently in stock in the Library, and the Library will endeavour to purchase new items as part of the Review process.

5. Add an Importance

Select Essential, Recommended or Further reading from the dropdown list next to your newly-added resource. This will help the Library to purchase enough copies of the book and help students manage their reading.

Watch this video on adding a book to an online reading list using the Quick Add option
Adding a chapter and requesting scans

1. Add the book to your online reading list.

If you are not sure how to do this, please click the 'Books' tab above for more information.

2. Add a student note to nominate a chapter.
Click on the 'item menu' on the right hand side of the list, and choose 'Note for Students'. You can now type chapter information into the box which appears under the title of the book. Click 'Save' to save your note.

3. Add an importance - is this essential, recommended, or further reading?

If a book chapter is essential or recommended reading, the Library will purchase an ebook copy of the whole book, or create a copyright-cleared scan during the Review process. You can also request a digitisation of a chapter yourself.

Requesting a digitisation of a chapter

If the chapter/article you want the students to read is not available online, when you have added a resource to your online reading list, you can use the 'Request Digitisation' button in the item menu on the right of the screen. Complete the form with details of the chapter/article you would like to request. There are copyright restrictions on what can be scanned, your Academic Liaison Librarian will contact you if there are any queries. Once the scan has been created, it will be available through the online reading list by clicking on the 'View online' button.

 

For more information on copyright-cleared chapters and the Scanning Service, please use the link below.

Adding a journal article to your reading list

1. Ensure that the Bookmark Browser Extension is added to your web browser

For more help, please look visit the page 'Adding the Bookmark Button to your web browser'.

2. Find the journal article that you want to recommend

We recommend that you use the Library's Summon search to find journal articles, as this will ensure that reading list links direct students to the correct journal platform.



If the article that you want to recommend is not available from the Library, you can use the Bookmark Browser Extension to save information from other sources such as publisher's websites. When the Library checks and Reviews your list, if necessary we look to obtain a copyright-cleared copy and let you know if there are any queries.

3. Use the Bookmark Button to save information about the article to 'My Bookmarks'

Click the Bookmark Browser Extension in your web browser when viewing the webpage version of the article NOT the PDF. This should display an online Reading Lists screen which has captured details of the article (if you try this with the PDF version of the article it won't capture enough information). Check that the 'Online Resource' box is checked, to ensure that the article appears correctly in the list with a 'View Online' button visible. Click 'Create' to save this information to your 'My Bookmarks' area.

4. Add saved information from 'My Bookmarks' to your online reading list

In your online reading list, use the Action Bar to navigate to the section of the list where you'd like the article to appear. Click 'Add Resource' and either select the article from your recent bookmarks, or use the search box to find a bookmarked item.

5. Add an Importance

Select Essential, Recommended or Further reading from the dropdown list next to your newly-added resource.

Watch a video on adding journal articles to an online reading list
Note that since this video was recorded there has been change to the appearance of the details captured by the extension tool, but it still works in the same way.

Adding a video to your reading list

1. Ensure that the Bookmark Browser Extension is added to your web browser

For more help, please look visit the page 'Adding the Bookmark Button to your web browser'.

2. Find the video that you want to recommend

3. Use the Bookmark Browser Extension to save information about the video to 'My Bookmarks'

Click the Bookmark Browser Extension in your web browser. This should display an online Reading Lists screen which has captured details of the video. The information will be brief - you can add extra details by using the options at the foot of the capture screen. Click 'Create' to save this information to your 'My Bookmarks' area. Before clicking 'Create', check that the 'Online Resource' box is checked. This will ensure that the video appears correctly on the list, with a View Online button enabled.

4. Add saved information from 'My Bookmarks' to your online reading list

In your online reading list, use the Action Bar to navigate to the section of the list where you'd like the video to appear. Click 'Add Resource' and either select the video from your recent bookmarks, or use the search box to find a bookmarked item.

5. Add an Importance

Select Essential, Recommended or Further reading from the dropdown list next to your newly-added resource.

Watch this video on adding a video to an online reading list 
Note that since this video was recorded there has been change to the appearance of the details captured by the extension tool, but it still works in the same way.

Adding a webpage to your reading list

1. Ensure that the Bookmark Browser Extension is added to your web browser

For more help, please look visit the page 'Adding the Bookmark Button to your web browser'.

2. Find the webpage that you want to recommend

3. Use the Bookmark Browser Extension to save information about the webpage to 'My Bookmarks'

Click the Bookmark Browser Extension in your web browser. This should display an online Reading Lists screen which has captured details of the webpage. The information will be brief - you can add extra details by using the options at the foot of the capture screen. Click 'Create' to save this information to your 'My Bookmarks' area. Before clicking 'Create', check that the 'Online Resource' box is checked. This will ensure that the webpage appears correctly on the list, with a View Online button enabled.

4. Add saved information from 'My Bookmarks' to your online reading list

In your online reading list, use the Action Bar to navigate to the section of the list where you'd like the article to appear. Click 'Add Resource' and either select the book from your recent bookmarks, or use the search box to find a bookmarked item.

5. Add an Importance

Select Essential, Recommended or Further reading from the dropdown list next to your newly-added resource.

Watch this video on adding a webpage to an online reading list
Note that since this video was recorded there has been change to the appearance of the details captured by the extension tool, but it still works in the same way.