The successful management of reading lists is a collaboration between academic module leaders and the University Library, and enables students to understand, discover and access the Essential, Recommended and Wider readings which are required for their progression and attainment.

The university quality and validation processes for modules and programmes of study recognise this need, and consequently require consultation and approval with the Library to ensure that resources are available to support students on any courses/modules.

Reading lists at the university are hosted on the institutional ‘Leganto’ reading list management system, which can act as an important pedagogical tool for lecturers and students, whilst also directly informing the library of priority resources which need to be purchased and made available (Leganto Reading Lists).

The purpose of the policy is to:

• Ensure a coherent approach to provision of reading lists across the institution,
• Provide students with a consistent experience and online method of accessing reading lists,
• Ensure students are made aware of priority reading, which is required for their studies,
• Ensure academic staff are provided with a straightforward solution to manage their reading lists,
• Meet the university’s quality framework and course validation requirements,
• Enable the Library to purchase and provide reading material which is:
  • relevant to teaching needs,
  • in the right format and quantity,
  • available at the right time,
  • cost effective and value for money,
• Articulate the roles and responsibilities of the Library and module leaders/teams in creating effective reading lists,
• Encourage use of library provided resources to students, to remove or diminish costs to them of sourcing their own books and course resources.

Further information, guidance and support can be located on Library reading list guidance pages.

3.1  General Principles

 The underpinning principles of the policy include acceptance that:

• Reading lists must be created by module leaders in the institutional Leganto reading list system,
• Reading lists will be available within the university virtual learning environment (VLE),
• Links to print and electronic books and journals will be made via Library Search, unless openly available online,
• Where necessary to comply with licensing restrictions, specific resource access may not be available to some partners, distance learners and TNE students,

• Lists should be built from resources that are inclusive of different students’ accessibility needs and reflect the diversity of the university community
• The University Library operates an e-first approach and will provide content in electronic

format wherever it is available and affordable to do so,

• Print books and materials will be purchased where ebooks are not available, according to an agreed ratio of copies to students on the module (see Sections 7.1 and 7.2),
• The most recent edition will be purchased, unless a module leader states that an older edition

is required for pedagogical reasons,

• The purchase of items requiring ongoing subscriptions (e.g. journals) will be subject to available funding, and renewal of any subscriptions will be subject to an annual review of usage,
• Items on reading lists must be identified as either Essential, Recommended or Wider
  • for Distance Learning and/or HEP courses additional considerations and use of ‘Core’ tags must be followed as per section (guidance on this can be located in section 7).

 3.2      Course proposal, validation and monitoring

 Course and module validation exercises must include library consultation on learning resources and reading lists to ensure availability.

If proposed resources require a substantial financial investment, for example taking new ongoing subscriptions or new licensing for partners or distance learners, then requisite new funding into library budgets for these must be confirmed before the end of the validation process.

 The currency of Leganto reading lists can form part of ongoing course quality monitoring, and the Library may be required to report both internally and externally to agencies such as the Copyright Licensing Agency and the Office for Students on the content and frequency of updates made to specific lists where this forms part of a quality monitoring process.

The Reading List Policy and Procedures apply to all active reading lists being used across the institution and all staff responsible for their creation and maintenance, both within academic and professional services departments. Division of responsibilities/commitments to the reading list policy are outlined within section 6.

Reading lists which are created without adherence to this policy may not be recognised as correct versions of record and therefore may lead to learning resources not being made available and may not be counted as compliant in institutional reporting/analytics.

‘Leganto’ is the reading list management system currently subscribed to at the University. This policy operates on the understanding that the Leganto reading list for each module is the updated version of record. The Library systematically creates a Leganto list for each module and only items added to the Leganto list are in the scope of this policy.

‘Library Search’ is the Library’s online catalogue/discovery service.

 For the purposes of this policy a 20-credit module is taken as a ‘standard’ module - exceptions may apply to modules with higher credit values.

 ‘Module Update Window’ refers to the period preceding each academic term, during which the Library advertises a requirement for module leaders to confirm and update their active reading lists.

It is essential for faculties and the University Library to work as partners in the planning and development of reading list requirements, particularly for new courses/modules. The university validation process for new modules and programmes of study requires consultation and approval with the Library to ensure that resources are available to support new courses/modules. In addition, consideration should be given to the cost and currency of the resources recommended.

 1.1       Module Leaders and Module Teams

 Module leaders and module teams will:

• Follow the agreed policy/procedures for creating reading lists (further guidance for new staff can be located here: Academics Induction Page),
• Attend Leganto training or consult the training documentation,
• Build, review and update reading lists in Leganto in advance of each semester within module update windows,
• Ensure reading associated with their module contains material which is easily accessible to all students and appropriate to the level of study,
• Identify and tag items on reading lists as being either Essential, Recommended or Wider reading,
• Select items available in electronic format wherever possible
• Select any journal articles from the library’s current collection (via Library Search), or choose articles available online as open access,
• Where additional paid-for articles are required, they will approach their Liaison Librarian for advice on access,
• Consider the diversity and representation of the university community in their list creation and refer to available best practice documents on diversifying citations
• Be open to the use of digitised or copyright cleared articles as alternatives to subscription,
• Give consideration to the cost of essential texts particularly if serving large cohorts,
• Report any access issues to the Library as they arise to leganto@wlv.ac.uk,
• Encourage feedback from students on reading lists as part of module evaluation,
• Share responsibility for updating the currency of book editions cited on reading lists,
• Take responsibility for maintaining external weblinks that may form part of module reading lists,
• Consider analytical data provided by the Library when reviewing content cited on reading

1.2        The University Library

The University Library will:

• Introduce academic staff to the role and purpose of the reading lists at the university,
• Provide updated training and guidance in the use of the Leganto reading list system,
• Maintain and provide access to reading lists for each module via Leganto,
• Provide information on ‘module update windows’ for reading lists that allow sufficient time to acquire and make resources available,
• Provide support in resource planning at the course/module design, development and review stages,
• Identify and promote electronic alternatives to printed resources,
• Advise on copyright clearance and document digitisation (Copyright Guidelines and Good Practice for course materials, lectures and recorded lectures),
• Ensure reading lists are available in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and associated electronic resources are available via Single Sign On (SSO),
• Actively source and purchase new editions of essential titles on reading lists, unless the module leader adds a note to Leganto stating the older edition is required for pedagogical reasons,
• When possible, digitise single chapters or journal articles where items are unavailable or high cost,
• Feed back to module leaders if resources can't be sourced, or are sourced in alternative editions,
• Purchase print items in lower ratios when cost is prohibitive, and liaise with module leaders to source alternative titles,
• Monitor usage and purchase extra copies as required and subject to budget,
• Endeavour to source resources in accessible formats to suit students’ specific requirements as identified on Tutor Awareness Sheets,
• Provide analytics on the usage of reading list resources to module leaders on request,
• Gather and  be  open  to  feedback  on  reading  lists  and  Leganto  to  inform  future policies/procedures.

7.1       Essential Reading

Each resource on a reading list must be tagged to show if it is Essential, Recommended or Wider reading, as defined below. Levels of reading should be appropriate to the level of study of the module and tagging of readings should help guide students in prioritising their reading activity.

 This will also help inform the University Library of anticipated usage of each resource, supporting timely and cost-effective acquisition of materials to support student needs.

 Tagging of reading priority will adhere to the following outlines, and the library will commit to provision in line with tagging as illustrated below.

7.2   Recommended Reading

 Reading that while not essential, is desirable to expand knowledge within the module of study and is linked closely enough to have a positive effect on assessed outcomes and progression.

• Where possible an electronic copy will be made available on the most affordable licence,
• Where an electronic copy is not available at least one print copy will be made available in the library,
• Items should be reasonably available for the library to purchase,
• Reading lists should typically include a maximum of 25 Recommended reading items per module,
• To ensure access is available in time for module start dates items should be added to lists during the annual ‘module update windows’.

7.3       Wider Reading

 Reading which is not directly linked to the assessment of the module, but which may be of interest to those students wishing to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the broader subject area.

• Items should ideally be from existing library resources or otherwise freely available online,
• Items can be added at any time throughout the lifetime of the module,
• Where the Library has available funding, it may source copies of newly suggested Wider reading materials not already in stock.

7.4        Reading Lists for Distance Learning (DL) or HEP modules

 The general principles of the overall reading list policy apply to all courses including DL/HEP modules. However, there are additional practical and financial considerations required when providing content for wholly remote provision:

7.4.1        Core Reading

 In addition to Essential, Recommended and Wider categories used in other modules, reading lists for DL/HEP modules should include items flagged as ‘Core’. Core reading must meet the criteria of:

• No more than two book titles may be marked as Core,
• Core items must be available from the university etextbook provider (currently Kortext).

 7.4.2         Essential, Recommended and Wider reading for online, DL/HEP modules

 Due to the online nature of these courses, reading list items for online DL/HEP modules must meet the added criteria:

• Must be available online - either through existing library content or Open Access availability,
• Must not make unauthorised use of content which is only licensed to campus based students,
• Where ‘hard copy only’ resources are requested, they must be suitable for copyright compliant digitisation by the library to make them available online.

Additional training documents and dates of upcoming workshops on using the reading list system can be found on the Leganto pages of the library website.

 The University Library maintains a Best Practice guidance page to support academics in effective creation and maintenance on their reading lists.

 Individual support queries relating to Leganto can be addressed to Leganto@wlv.ac.uk.

Modules with a weighting of more than 20 credits may make use of a proportionally greater number of resources depending on the credit value for the module, and the library will work with module leaders to support this where relevant.

 There may be some reading lists which do not relate to taught modules (e.g. topic based or cross curricular lists) where a different approach to that detailed here is applied.

 If you are creating such a list please seek further advice from your faculty Liaison Librarian either directly or by contacting LISliaison@wlv.ac.uk

This Policy was approved by the University’s Academic Board on 20/02/2024. The University may change this Policy at any time, and where appropriate. Where a policy is not due for review, but is found to require updating, it will remain published, unless the reasons for review render it obsolete.

The Reading List Policy works in close conjunction with the University Library ‘Collection Management Policy’ which can be located here: WLV Policies - University of Wolverhampton.

This policy is authored and regularly reviewed by the University Library Collection Management Group chaired by the library Head of Content, Digital and Research Support.

 If you have additional queries about the content of this policy or need support in reading list management please contact your faculty liaison librarian in the first instance, either directly or via LISliaison@wlv.ac.uk.

 For general policy queries please  contact the Corporate Compliance Team via email: Compliance@wlv.ac.uk.