Reading Lists – Communication & Marketing

Mike DannLearning Resources Manager

Janet LynchE-Learning Coordinator

Theresa Lawrence Library Coordinator

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

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

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

Some familiar problems1. 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

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

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

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

We had an idea!

Interactive Reading Lists

(IRLs)

But without influence, how can

we move it forward?

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:

Basic Interactive Reading List• A list of books in MS Word with hyperlinks added for each

book, to its corresponding catalogue record

Innovative Interactive Reading ListAdded value with links to:

• LRC FAQs• Inter Library Loan Request form• Twitter • MyPC Booking Form• And other items

Format reading listsLecturers 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

Using LiveBindersFor pilot project our links to:

• LRC FAQs• LRC Information• And other items

Went to documents on LiveBinders

Pdf reading list issuesUpdates 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

Pdf reading list issuesThe 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Any Questions?Mike DannLearning Resources ManagerNew College Durham

mike.dann@newdur.ac.uk

www.newcollegedurham.ac.uk