MyReadingLists
Staff guide
The College Education Committee has endorsed a Vision that every taught course should
have a MyReadingLists list by 2016-2017 and expects the academic community to work
towards this goal. Over the next two years Library Services will be providing ongoing
support to academic staff and administrators in the practicalities of creating and updating
MyReadingLists lists for their courses. By 2016-2017 all the reading list material that is
required must be requested via MyReadingLists.
Reading lists are a vital resource in helping to scaffold student learning and there are some
simple steps that can be taken to improve student satisfaction both with the lists and with
access to items on the lists. Students expect reading lists to be:
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Fairly short
Accurate
Up-to-date
Clearly laid out and readings prioritised
Annotated where relevant
MyReadingLists exists to direct students to those readings which will help them to succeed
in their studies at King’s. The service can be found at http://myreadinglists.kcl.ac.uk. You will
need your King’s username and password to log in to the system. The reading list team
recommend using the latest version of Firefox, although the site should work well on
Chrome and Safari as well.
There are seven steps you will need to follow to produce your first list:
STEP 1: Applying for a list
STEP 2: Creating your list structure and adding notes
STEP 3: Bookmarking resources
STEP 4: Adding previously bookmarked resources to your reading list
STEP 5: Requesting digitisations – what we can and can’t do
STEP 6: Publishing and requesting a Library review
STEP 7: Adding a resource block in KEATS
STEP 8: Maintaining your list and tracking student engagement
TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
What to put on your MyReadingList
MyReadingLists are a good medium to pull together different types of resource you want
your students to look at. These can include traditional resources like books and articles and
new media such as youtube videos, podcasts etc.
We advise using them as a medium for communicating key resources (for example weekly
core and recommended readings) rather than exhaustive bibliographies. You can get more
guidance on this either on our webpage
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/collections/reading.aspx or on our demo Using MyReadingLists
list http://myreadinglists.kcl.ac.uk/lists/3A5AEFB1-58AE-A043-9B5C-7163DCE12CAF.html
If you are sure you have already applied for a reading list and have received an email inviting
you to MyReadingLists, feel free to skip to STEP 2: Creating your list structure and adding
notes. If you’re unsure about this, see STEP 1: Applying for a list below.
If you have previous experience of using MyReadingLists and have just encountered a tricky
issue look in TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs and if you can’t find a solution there email
myreadinglists@kcl.ac.uk or call ext. 2021
STEP 1: Applying for a list
In order to set up a reading list or gain access to one already which has already been created
you must complete the online form at:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/collections/online-reading-list-request-form.aspx
The form requires basic details for both yourself and your course. Even if you do not have
finalised student numbers it is still useful if you put in a rough estimate. You can update this
later and it helps ensure the appropriate numbers of resources are purchased when you
send your list for review. We would advise against making your list private – this setting
does not affect your copyright in any way and private lists can be a bit harder for students to
use as they will get automatically logged-out at regular intervals.
Once you have applied using the online form you will receive an email invitation to become
the owner of the reading lists you specified. This will be sent from noreply@talisaspire.com
and may be filtered into your junk folder, so if you don’t hear back within a couple of days
remember to check there. Click on the invite link at the bottom of the email and select
“accept” on the webpage that opens.
If you share teaching with colleagues and want to work on your list collaboratively, this
information can be found in TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
STEP 2: Creating your list structure and adding notes
1) Log in to MyReadingLists at http://myreadinglists.kcl.ac.uk and search for your
reading list using the name or module code. If you can’t find your list take a look at
TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs.
2) Once you’ve opened the list, click the ‘Add to my lists’ button. You should then be
able to access the list at a later date by going to your ‘My Lists’ page.
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3) Click ‘Edit’, below the module name, and click ‘Edit list’ to begin editing.
4) To create a new section to your list, click on the arrows next to the ‘New Section’
button on the right section of the page and drag into the main body of the reading
list.
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October 2014
5) You will then be prompted to add the title of the section, e.g. the week or topic name
and an optional study note, which could be the name of the lecturer, or an overview
of the topic.
6) You can also use this method to create subsections, by dragging a ‘New Section’ into
an existing section:
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October 2014
7) To add notes click the arrows next to the ‘New Note’ tab on the right section of the
page and drag into the main body of the reading list
8) You will be prompted with a pop-up window. Enter your note in here and click ‘Save’
when complete.
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October 2014
9) You will now see your note within the chosen section.
If you decide you want to switch the structure around later you’ll find some guidance on
how to alter list structures on populated lists in Step 7
STEP 3: Bookmarking resources
My Reading Lists works with bookmarks that you create from online sources, such as library
catalogue records, ejournals, and webpages. These bookmarks can be added to reading lists,
and sections within lists, at the point of bookmarking. The bookmarks are also saved into a
list, so that you add the same resource again without needing to bookmark for a second
time.
There are two ways to bookmark resources for your reading list: one is to use the
Bookmarklet toolbar to automatically bookmark a resource (this is almost always the
preferred method); the other is to add an item manually (this may be preferable in some
instances, please see 3.5)
3.1 Installing the Bookmark Button
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Click on the ‘My Bookmarks’ tab at the top of the page
Select the ‘Install Bookmark Button’ on the top right hand of the screen
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This will talk you through the process. If you’re having trouble have a look at section
1 of our TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs.
Once the Bookmark Button is installed you won’t even have to keep MyReadingLists
open to add to your reading list.
3.2 Bookmarking the Books
When adding bookmarks please do check the Library Catalogue and bookmark from there if
we have the title you want. Once of the benefits of MyReadingLists is that it gives the
students live information on what’s available through the library and this won’t work if the
bookmark isn’t actually linked to the library catalogue. It also helps to significantly
streamline the book ordering process, ensuring that the books that do need purchased
make it to the shelves more quickly.
If we do not hold the item you require in a King’s library, you can still use the Bookmark
Button to bookmark resources from COPAC (www.copac.ac.uk) or bookseller sites such as
Amazon.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Go to the King’s Library Catalogue (http://library.kcl.ac.uk).
Search for the item – you may need to use subtitles.
Select your chosen resource by clicking on its title.
Click on the Bookmark Button (circled below) on your browser’s toolbar.
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October 2014
5. You will now see a split screen page. One side will show the bibliographic details of
the resource while the other will show the original webpage.
6. Click ‘Create & Add to List’ (circled below). This will give you the option of adding the
item directly to a reading list or section of a reading list.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
7. You should now set the importance of the item. This helps give clear guidance to
students and ensures the Library will acquire the correct number of copies.
8. When you’ve finished selecting the appropriate options press ‘OK’
9. You will be returned to the original webpage (eg. The Library Catalogue), however, if
you check your list you will find the bookmark has been added to the section you
selected.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
Guidelines for importance levels:
To ensure equitable provision of resources across the university, we use ratios
based on importance levels for ordering. Our current ratios are
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Core: Interpreted as essential reading for all students on the course, 1 copy
purchased by the library for every 10 students and an ebook where
available.
Recommended: Interpreted as resources which are strongly recommended,
1 copy purchased for every 50 students and an ebook where available.
Additional: Interpreted as useful background reading but not essential. Not
purchased unless specifically requested.
No Importance Set: Usually assumed to be Additional. Not purchased unless
specifically requested.
For more information on the value of structured reading lists with clear importance levels
see Thompson, Mahon and Thomas’ Reading lists – How do you eat yours? Or the selection
of articles on the subject on our ‘Using MyReadingLists’ list.
3.3 Bookmarking ebooks.
If we hold an ebook but no print copy please bookmark this as above, but before selecting
‘Create & Add to list’ tick the ‘Online Resource’ box in the bottom left hand corner.
If we hold both an ebook and a print copy, please bookmark the print copy and add the URL
to the ebook as an extra field. The easiest way to do this is to:
1. Open the library record for the ebook in a new tab and copy the URL.
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2. Bookmark the print copy and when the split screen appears go to the ‘Add field’
menu
3. Select ‘Web address’ from the dropdown menu and click ‘Add’
4. Paste the copied URL into the new field and then tick the ‘Online Resource’ box.
3.4 Bookmarking Chapters
Chapters can be a little bit fiddly and some users who are unsure about them simply
bookmark the book and specify which chapter is needed in a note to the student. To create
a chapter bookmark:
1. Bookmark the book as normal, adding the URL if we also have the ebook.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
2. When the split screen appears go to the ‘Add Field’ menu and choose ‘Has part
(chapter, article etc.)’
3. This will move all of the bibliographic details of the book into a new ‘Is part of Book’
tab on the bookmark.
4. It will also bring up a new section where you can enter the chapter details
5. If you accidentally added the wrong type of tab, don’t worry, you can use the
‘remove’ button to revert to normal and try again.
6. Specify the type of resource, in this case ‘Chapter’ and enter the relevant
bibliographic details.
7. Add the bookmark to your list via the ‘Create & Add to list’ button as normal.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
8. Don’t forget to add the importance level. If you only require one chapter from the
book you may also want to consider placing a digitisation request as a Note to the
library now. More information on digitsations can be found in STEP 5: Requesting
digitisations – what we can and can’t do.
3.5 Bookmarking journals and journal articles
The bookmark button allows you to bookmark journal articles from most major ejournals.
This method works if there is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) present, or if it is an article on
a major platform such as JSTOR. You must be on the webpage for a specific article rather
than the .pdf version.
If you are using the A-Z journals list
or the King’s library catalogue,
please open the journal in a new
tab. You can do this by right clicking
on the journal title and choosing
‘Open in new tab.’ This will ensure
that your bookmarklet tool appears
as normal on your browser’s
toolbar.
1. Go to the journal article. You
can use abstracts but where
possible go to the full article
via King’s access
2. Click the ‘Add to My
Bookmarks’ button on your
toolbar.
3. You will now see a split screen page. One side will show the bibliographic data of the
resource, the other will show the original journal webpage.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
4. Make sure you tick the ‘Online Resource’ box at the bottom to ensure that students
are linked to the resource
5. Click ‘Create & Add to List’. This will give you the option of adding the item directly
to a reading list or section of a reading list.
6. Please set the importance of the item, choosing ‘Core’, ‘Recommended’ or
‘Additonal’ (see the guidance in section 3.2).
7. You will then be returned to the original webpage (in this case, the journal article).
8. If you wish to add an article from a journal that we hold physically but not
electronically, we recommend locating the journal on the Library Catalogue and
following the steps laid out for chapters in 3.4.
STEP 4: Adding previously bookmarked resources to your reading list
You may find want to use the same resources multiple times either within the same list or
across different courses you teach. We wanted to highlight a couple of things to make this
easier.
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If you are creating multiple reading lists which differ very little you can create the
first list and then ask us to duplicate it. Then you can edit it to make any changes you
need
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014

On the right hand side of the edit screen there is a list of your bookmarks and a ‘find’
box. Just type in part of the title or the author to find the one you need.
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Just drag and drop the bookmark into the right place on your list…but don’t forget to
set the reading importance.
If you are adding multiple chapters from the same book you may want to use this function.
Simply add the bookmark for the book into the appropriate fields and then select ‘Edit
metadata’ for each instance to add in the relevant chapter.
When you press ‘Save Changes’ a confirmation message will come up asking you to confirm
whether the changes apply to all occurrences of the bookmark or not. If the chapter
information is different for each bookmark, make sure you select ‘Just this occurrence’
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
STEP 5: Requesting digitisations – what we can and can’t do
We have extensive ejournal holdings, and purchase ebooks where possible, but inevitably eversions cannot be purchased for all core resources. To supplement our collections you can
use MyReadingList to indicate key extracts from Core books and journals you want scanned.
We will then scan these if:
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We cannot purchase acceptable electronic access.
Your request complies with the CLA Higher Education licence terms (you can use this
tool to check: http://www.cla.co.uk/)
Your request does not exceed one chapter or article or 5% of the same volume
The volume is owned and a physical copy held as part of King’s Library Collections.
If you consider a core reading sufficiently important to be assessed for digitisation, simply
add a “Note to Library” for the relevant reading list item saying “Digitisation required” and
indicating the section you require where appropriate. If you request a whole item we will
not be able to process your request.
If you would like a second chapter or article from a discreet item, indicate clearly in the note
which is your first and second choice. We will make enquiries and may be able to provide
the additional extract. Similarly, for extracts not covered by the CLA licence and for which no
ebook is available, we may be able to get copyright clearance.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
STEP 6: Publishing and requesting a Library review
Until you publish your list it will not be visible to students so make sure you do this when
you’ve finished working on your list. We would also advise you send your list for a library
review when you publish it. Requesting a review alerts the Library that a list has been
completed and allows us to review the items on it for purchase.
There are a couple of things which are really important you check you’ve done before you
send your list for review
1) Have you added student numbers?
We purchase resources according to ratios derived from student numbers. We’re
happy to work from an estimate rather than final numbers – we can always buy
extra copies if you get more students than anticipated. However, it’s really important
we have something to work from so we can ensure we buy enough copies to meet
demand.
You can add student numbers by going into ‘edit’ mode than then selecting the ‘edit’
button at the top right beside the list title. This will bring up a menu allowing you to
change the list title, add the anticipated student numbers and put in a top level
description of the list.
2) Have you set the importance level for all items?
Our current ratios are to buy 1 print copy of every CORE book for every 10 students,
and 1 copy of every RECOMMENDED book for every 50 students. We will also try
and get ebook copies where available. We won’t purchase additional or
uncategorised titles unless specifically requested in a library note.
3) Have you included any library notes requesting digitisations where relevant?
An example of an item where you may want to request a digitisation is where an
article on the list is core reading you expect all students to consult but which cannot
be accessed as part of King’s Libraries’ Collections.
You can publish your list by clicking the ‘Publish’ button in list edit mode. Pressing this
button will bring up menu giving you the ‘Request review’ option which will both publish
your changes and send it for a Library review.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
For administrative reasons, please only submit your list for review once. You will receive an
email once your list review has been completed. You can also check whether your list has
been started by clicking on ‘Review’ and then ‘Review history’ from the main list view
If you have any questions about your review please email myreadinglists@kcl.ac.uk and we
will do our best to help.
STEP 7: Adding a resource block in KEATS
To create a permanent link to your online reading list on your KEATS page:
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Go to the relevant KEATS Course
‘Turn editing on’
Select ‘Add a Block’
Add ‘Resource Lists’
If the list exists in http://myreadinglists.kcl.ac.uk then it will appear. If it does not appear
check section 3 of our TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
STEP 8: Maintaining your list and tracking student engagement
One of the benefits of MyReadingLists is it is quite easy to add new items throughout the
year as new resources are created.
Making small changes
You can add books throughout the year. You don’t really need to send the list for another
review every time you add a book. Just fill in the Suggest a Resource form to let us know
when you have added a title to the reading list which you think the library needs to
purchase copies of.
Making larger changes
If you’re significantly changing your reading list or there has been a large increase in student
numbers we’d recommend you do send the list for another review.
Changing the course structure
If you’re making significant changes to the course structure you may find it helpful to move
whole sections about at the same time. You can do this using the Table of contents function
1) Go to the ‘Table of contents’ at the top of your list in edit mode and select ‘show’
2) You will then be able to drag and drop the different sections into your preferred
order. This will move the section and all of its contents
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
Monitoring student use
MyReadingLists has a Dashboard function which will allow you to gauge how well your
students are engaging with the course resources.
1) To use this select the green dashboard button just below the menu on your main list.
2) You will be able to see how many students have clicked through to each item as well
as each section overall
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October 2014
3) You will also be able to see if any of your students have set reading intentions to
indicate whether or not they intend to read it.
4) The dashboard also tells you if the bibliographic details (metadata) could be
improved, whether it is the latest edition and whether it Is in the library
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October 2014
TIPS, HINTS AND FAQs
I can’t find my list
I can’t edit my list
I know I have a MyReadingList but it won’t appear on KEATs
I want to use my list for a Meta-Course
This service could be improved/doesn’t fit my purposes
Can I upload PDFs from online journals to Keats?
Can I add my own scans to KEATS or other website for my students?
Do digitisations include footnotes?
Can I use my digitisation elsewhere?
I can’t find my list
The first thing to do is to make sure you’re logged in. unpublished lists in ‘draft’ or which
have restrictive privacy settings are only visible to those who have logged in with their King’s
ID. Once you’ve logged in try searching again
I can’t edit my list
Again, make sure you’ve logged in. If that doesn’t work you may be looking at a ‘Module’
not a ‘List’
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
Modules
appear with a
small blue
box saying ‘module’ and they aren’t actually lists, they are just part of hierarchy structure
we copy from KEATs to allow the two systems to communicate. If you see the screen below,
you are definitely looking at a module, not a list
If any lists were linked to the module they would appear under ‘lists linked to this module’
so if this is what you’re seeing you probably need to fill in a MyReadingLists request form
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/collections/online-reading-list-request-form.aspx
However, if you can see a list but you can’t edit it please contact us at
myreadinglists@kcl.ac.uk you may need to be given editing rights or we may need to
contact service support to resolve the problem.
I know I have a MyReadingList but it won’t appear on KEATs
We actually come across this problem quite often and it is usually due to a mismatch
between the course code on KEATs and the module code on MyReadingLists. If no module
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code is entered onto KEATs into the course code field then KEATs will automatically
populate this field with the course title.
Unfortunately MyReadingLists will not accept Course IDs which contain spaces as it will only
accept alphanumeric characters, hyphens and underscores here.
You will need to contact your KEATs support team to ensure your Course ID Code does not
have spaces or other invalid characters in it. When this is done let us know and we will
adjust the ID Code in MyReadingLists which should resolve the problem.
I want to use my list for a Meta-Course
This is absolutely possible but you will need to make sure your Course ID on KEATs only
contains usable characters. Please ask your KEATs support team to adjust the Course ID for
your Meta-Course into a usable format. We would advise stringing together the composite
course codes with underscores as has been done for the first two modules shown below.
Once this is done contact us at myreadinglists@kcl.ac.uk and we will ensure the new codes
are linked into the hierarchy on MyReadingLists. You should then be able to link your
reading list to KEATs as normal.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014
This service could be improved/doesn’t fit my purposes
MyReadingLists is King’s version of the Talis Aspire reading list software. Talis Aspire draw
development ideas from their user community, so please get in touch with us at
myreadinglists@kcl.ac.uk if you have any feedback, complaints or suggestions. We may
know some workarounds for issues you’re having with the system and if we don’t we should
be able to work it into a suggestion we can pass on to the software developers.
Can I upload PDFs from online journals to Keats?
It is not compliant with the terms of the CLA licence to upload pdfs of articles unless the
item is covered by the CLA licence for digital reuse (here is a list of participating publishers:
http://www.cla.co.uk/licences/excluded_works/digital/digital_he) AND we are notified to
add the item to our annual report. We would recommend in the majority of circumstances
just using a stable link to the article.
Can I add my own scans to KEATS or other website for my students?
We are required to report all pdfs to the CLA. When scans are uploaded to KEATS (or other
VLE) without our knowledge, they are not compliant with the terms of the CLA licence even when the publication is covered, the book is owned by King’s, and the extract is of an
appropriate length. However, if you already have scans we might be able to use of them –
let us know and it may save some time retrieving and scanning the extracts.
Do digitisations include footnotes?
We always aim to scan any footnotes or endnotes that correspond with the pages you
requested to be scanned unless you tell us otherwise.
Can I use my digitisation elsewhere?
Due to the constraints of the CLA licence, digitisations we produce must be accessible only
to course users, so typically scans can only be uploaded to Keats and the virtual campus.
Library Services www.kcl.ac.uk/library
October 2014