Some tips and tricks for using your Reading List
Reading lists are a learning tool which can be used to help students study with structure and a clear objective. Resources are specifically chosen by your tutors and carefully compiled by them and the Reading List team in the University Library to make them as accessible – and your studying as smooth – as possible.
Here are some things you should know to make the most of your reading lists, which are available to you on Moodle:
- In most cases, you don’t have to read all the items that are on your reading list. Resources are categorised by ‘tags’ that let you know what is essential for each class. Read everything that is tagged as ‘required’; read a couple that are ‘recommended’ and pique your interest; peruse any ‘additional’ readings.
- Additional readings may be useful for assessments. Engaging well with a few of the resources on your reading list is a great way to set yourself up for doing well.
- Using Google or AI to search for books can be risky. Your reading list has been set and compiled by real people, so care has been taken to ensure sources are valid.
- The information provided about an item in the reading list will almost always include the details you need for referencing. Referencing can be daunting, but this will help you recognise what information is most important to record. (It can also automatically create a reference for you, although you should always use this with caution. If in doubt, check out this very helpful guide.)
- When you click on a resource, your reading list will recommend items that ‘you might be interested in’, as if you were browsing the shelves of the library.
- As a student, you are allowed (and encouraged) to request books for the library to purchase or loan via our Inter-Library Loan system. This is quick, easy, and a great resource to take advantage of.
Quick tips:
- Saving a resource as a ‘favourite’ (via the … menu button) will help you organise your reading. You can mark readings as complete, make private notes, and add tags which allow you to filter your list.
- Use the filter to find what readings are required, recommended, additional, and suggested for student purchase.
- If your list takes a long time to load, change the ‘view items’ button in the top left corner to ‘view sections’. Reading lists can lag, especially if they have hundreds of items.
- If it is difficult to find a book in the library, you can use the reading list to access a map which will tell you where the physical text is located. Just click ‘Available at…’, and then the ‘Locate’ button on the bottom right of the page.
- Make sure there are no typos when searching for an item – the list might tell you something isn’t there which actually is.
If you need any help, come see us in the Main Library, or email [email protected]