Presentation from ARLG Conference 2016

1. Reading Lists –
Communication & Marketing
Mike Dann
Learning Resources Manager
Janet Lynch
E-Learning Coordinator
Theresa Lawrence
Library Coordinator

2. New College Durham
• Formed in 1977 – merger of
Durham Technical College &
Neville’s Cross College
• New building – now 12 years old
• Mixed Economy Group (MEG)
• In top 10% of colleges nationally in
terms of performance
• FE 2600 FT & 700 PT
• HE 650 FT & 500 PT
• 13000 community based/off-site
students

3. New College Durham
• LRC currently 13 staff = 9.02 FTEs
• Library reduced in size – stock &
floor space
• Library & Computer Suite
separating
• Media Store coming in
• Library staff 10 = 7.06 FTEs
• Open 58 hours per week term
time

4. Aims of this session
• To provide some detailed information on a current project
• Describe how the project came about
• Outline some of our experiences
• Explain where we are now
• Look at our plans for further developments
• Conclude

5. Some familiar problems
1. Obtaining reading lists & reading list quality
• Lecturers don’t always give the library a copy
• Lecturers often seem to write reading lists from memory
• Lecturers often include very old editions or titles
• Copy & Pasting = inconsistencies in reference style, font type, font size

6. Some familiar problems
2. Publicising our online services & information
• LRC Pages on NCD Online College Intranet/ VLE
• Promoted at induction, posters and on screens around
college
• Few students seem to use things on Intranet
• Lack of awareness of the student Intranet even amongst
lecturers
• Lack of overall ownership

7. Some familiar problems
3. Raising our profile – getting ourselves heard
• Promoting ourselves to students
• Promoting ourselves to other staff
• Gaining some influence amongst other managers
• LRC has a good reputation – but somehow lacking
influence
• Unable to get things done

8. Problems with ICT
• They have lots of demands and challenges
• Library / LRC not always their first priority
• Particular issues
• Placing pdfs in secure location
• Updating Intranet information
• Appearance of Intranet – due to ownership

9. We had an idea!
Interactive Reading Lists
(IRLs)

10. But without
influence, how can
we move it forward?

11. Does the LRC have any Innovative
Projects?
• Replace counter with Pods proposal
• Reconfiguration of library entrance area proposal
• Extra computers proposal
• iPad & roaming support proposal
• Equipment loans proposal
• Provision of iPads & iPhones to staff
Our Catalyst:

12. Basic Interactive Reading List
• A list of books in MS Word with hyperlinks added for each
book, to its corresponding catalogue record

13. Innovative Interactive Reading List
Added value with links to:
• LRC FAQs
• Inter Library Loan Request form
• Twitter
• MyPC Booking Form
• And other items

14. Format reading lists
Lecturers supply lists and then we:
• Check lists against library stock
• Advise about what needs ordering
• Identify new editions, out of print titles
• Correct references
• Add to our template – has our links already added
• Add hyperlinks for books
• Save as a pdf and send to Lecturer

15. Using LiveBinders
For pilot project our links to:
• LRC FAQs
• LRC Information
• And other items
Went to documents on LiveBinders

16. Pdf reading list issues
Updates and replacing older versions:
• Once a lecturer has a pdf they can put it anywhere
• Quickly lose track of where it has been published
• Cannot be sure all old versions have been removed
• More than 1 version available can cause confusion

17. Pdf reading list issues
The solution (found by accident):
• Add the IRL itself to LiveBinders
• Provide lecturer with the link to the LiveBinder
• IRL can be amended and replaced
• Link remains the same
• Changes occur behind the scenes – minimal disruption

18. Do IRLs work? Yes and No
• Limited feedback so far
• Demonstrated at staff meetings
• HEDU/LRC
• HE Curriculum and Quality Forum
• Reception from curriculum staff very good
• Got backing from senior staff

19. Do IRLs work? Yes and No
• All HE reading lists being supplied to library
• All to be converted and made available as IRLs
for Sept 2016
• Links to be added to course and module guides
(and elsewhere)
• Will replace reading list in these guides in time

20. IRLs - Results
• Lecturer gets their reading list corrected, updated and has value
added
• Students get easy access to details of their reading list
• Reading list can be separated from course or module guide
• Details of individual items is easy and quick to find
We get a lot of extra work but….
• Now getting all reading lists
• All items in stock
• Raise profile of our information and services
• Raise our profile across college
• Making a bigger contribution

21. Negative Points
• IRLs do not always work off-site
• Some issues with links to our catalogue
• VMWare Horizon Virtual Desktop
• Broken hyperlinks – software upgrades, ICT
maintenance work
• Formatting issues – buttons disappeared in PDF
version
• Updating buttons – appear on all lists, so time
consuming to amend them

22. Changes we’ve made so far…..
• Store reading lists in one place – using
LiveBinders
• We will upload IRLs and supply the
link, not the PDF file
• We can update and upload an IRL –
the link stays the same
• Can also use links in social media

23. Changes we’d like to see…..
• Move away from predominantly books,
journal titles and websites
• Move towards greater variety of
resources in reading lists.
• More online journal articles included.
• Videos and video clips included too.
• Links to specific webpages or online
documents

24. Conclusion
• An old idea to us = not very exciting?
• New idea to others = really exciting!!
• At last – we are seeing all reading lists
• Now able to ensure we have recommended books
• Able to advise on new editions, alternative titles
• Quality of reading lists will improve considerably

25. Any Questions?
Mike Dann
Learning Resources Manager
New College Durham
mike.dann@newdur.ac.uk
www.newcollegedurham.ac.uk