Academic Librarian Catherine Parkin talks to Learning Resources Librarian Jacqui Hunt, about how Online Reading Lists can support  independent learning, save time and help students feel more in control of their workload.

Parkin, Catherine 0:09

Welcome to the latest episode in our Skills For Learning Podcast series. Today, we're going to learn how using Online Reading Lists can support your independent learning, save you time and help you feel more in control of your workload.

I'm Catherine Parkin, one of the Academic Librarians here at Leeds Beckett, and today I'm joined by Jacqui Hunt, who is a Learning Resources Librarian. Hello, Jacqui.

Hunt, Jacqui 0:29

Yeah.

Hi, Catherine. Lovely to be here.

Parkin, Catherine 0:37

Hiya! Now, actually Jacqui and I know each other quite well. We've been working on a research project recently which is examining staff and student use of the Online Reading Lists. So I think we have plenty to talk about. So thanks ever so much for joining us today, Jacqui. A good place to begin might be if you just explain what do we mean by an Online Reading List.

Hunt, Jacqui 1:00

Well before I start with that, I really feel the need to say that our research showed us that students absolutely love using the Online Reading List system, and one of my favourite quotes called the list. “an amazing tool in helping you to do your work efficiently”.

Parkin, Catherine 1:06

Yeah. That's a great quote, yeah.

Hunt, Jacqui 1:15

Yeah. Anyway, it's a list created by your lecturers and contains the resources you should be reading for your course. You can access it in MyBeckett when you go into your module and your lecturer can also add links to it in other places in MyBeckett. Now when I was a student, we were just given a paper reading list and we would have to find the books ourselves from the library.

Parkin, Catherine 1:27

Hmm.

Hunt, Jacqui 1:35

So an Online Reading List is so much more accessible and easier to use, and students really like that. You can filter for the different types of items, such as for online items, if you're studying from home, or just for physical items, say if you're in the Library and you can also filter by the item type. So for instance, if you just wanted to look at the articles on the list.

Parkin, Catherine 1:49

Mm-hmm.

Hunt, Jacqui 1:55

Plus there's also a search bar as well to search for a specific item. If you've got something in mind that you're looking for.

Parkin, Catherine 2:02

That sounds really, really useful. One of the main challenges of university study is learning how to find information and becoming an independent learner. You know, it's that idea, isn't it? Of being responsible for your own learning, isn't it? How does a reading list maybe help with that?

Hunt, Jacqui 2:09

Yeah. Yeah. So as a student, you do really need to organise and manage your workload and be proactive and seek help and required. And the Online Reading List really encourages students to engage with the materials, but at their own pace. It really helps to build that autonomy and learning.

Parkin, Catherine 2:35

Hmm. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot more to reading lists than meets the eye, isn't there? You know, I think Online Reading Lists are just seen quite often as a static list of books, and I'm hoping this podcast will help to dispel that myth. For example, what might not be widely known is using Online Reading Lists can encourage the development and enhancement of a wide range of academic and personal skills, so you know all those things your tutors are keen to for you to enhance. We're talking information literacy, note making things like reading skills, yeah.

Hunt, Jacqui 3:14

Yeah, you're definitely right there, Catherine. So to take, so let's take information literacy for example, by engaging with the Online Reading List, students are being exposed to all different kinds of information and they're being given a launchpad, if you like, from which to conduct further research.

Parkin, Catherine 3:16

Yeah. So students would learn perhaps how to distinguish credible academic sources from those unreliable ones and learn what they need to do to access materials through digital platforms. The whole logging in process, they can learn all that, can't they?

Hunt, Jacqui 3:47

Yes, I agree. And looking at reading skills, students are getting the opportunity to start reading critically and understanding what can be in some places quite complex texts.

Parkin, Catherine 3:57

Yeah, student feedback for the recent research project has shown us, hasn't it, that students do appreciate a little bit of guidance here. You know, you're talking about the critical reading and understanding - it does help if academic staff add explanatory notes to their lists, maybe advising what sections to read, what do you think about that?

Hunt, Jacqui 4:21

Yeah, absolutely. Some tutors have had a lot of success with adding little questions to the notes field of a list, encouraging students to think a bit about what they've read. The best online list gives students access to a variety of sources, so articles, books, chapters, etc, which can all improve critical thinking and analytical reading, as well as links to video, Ted talks and films or TV episodes which just help break up your learning and add a nice bit of variety too.

Parkin, Catherine 4:47

Yes, well, I know I and the students love a quick YouTube video sometimes, instead of reading a massive book, don't they?

Hunt, Jacqui 4:56

Oh yes, definitely.

Parkin, Catherine 4:59

So moving on, as an Academic Librarian, I often see students for appointments who seem quite stressed. They're juggling a lot. Maybe they've got several assignments on the go at once. Would you say Online Reading Lists are a potential tool to help them manage studies to alleviate some of this stress?

Hunt, Jacqui 5:20

Yeah. I'm glad you asked. Student well-being is of great importance at Leeds Beckett, and with a reading list, all items are all in one place, making it stress free when it comes to finding your resources. The best lists also order items by week or topic, and our research has showed us that knowing what to read and when to read really helps students feel in control, and they can see the full scope of the required readings, which completely helps reduce anxiety.

Parkin, Catherine 5:48

Yes, yes, yes, I can totally sympathise with that. So harking back to when I was a student (a long time ago), I often felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of reading and not always being sure where to start. One of the students actually said to me , “being able to see how much I need to get done makes it much easier to process mentally and it reduces stress”.

Hunt, Jacqui 6:14

I love that kind of feedback. An interesting fact for you, Catherine. 70% of the student survey respondents overwhelmingly agreed that the reading list helped manage their workload, and they really helped reduce that “where do I start?” anxiety and students value knowing that they're reading a credible source with relevant materials.

Parkin, Catherine 6:34

Yeah, you're so right about that. And not to mention how simple it is these days to get quick, easy access to resources via those lists. It's easier than people think, isn't it?

Hunt, Jacqui 6:45

Yeah. Oh, it's pretty magical actually. If you're logging on with your LBU account, you can pretty much bypass all the signing in and the password bits. It just does it all for you automatically. I don't know if people realise it does that, but you can't imagine the faff it's cutting out for you.

Parkin, Catherine 7:01

Absolutely. And also you've reminded me the way the lists can be organised was also a big hit with the students we spoke to, wasn't it?

Hunt, Jacqui 7:02

Yeah, that's right. Your lecturer can organise the list so it reflects exactly how the module is being taught, and if they do this you can then navigate the Online Reading List by a table of contents, meaning you can just skip to the topic or the week that you actually need. And your lecturer can also add notes or info in to direct you as to which part of a resource to focus on or read, so it can really help streamline and focus your study.

Parkin, Catherine 7:34

Yeah, it's occurred to me now that the Online Reading Lists can really, really help with that time management organisation. The planning, you know, all those study skills students need in order to work efficiently.

Hunt, Jacqui 7:45

Mm-hmm.

Parkin, Catherine 7:48

So you can use the list to prioritise reading set goals, manage deadlines based on a maybe a reading schedule that you decide to set up. Basically it just makes everything easier, doesn't it? Come on, Jacqui, what other benefits are there for using these online lists?

Hunt, Jacqui 7:49

Yeah. Yes it does. Well, your reading list can also help with referencing too, so you've got the option to display the reading list in different citation styles, and you can even download a copy of the list in the citation style of your choice so it can be a bit of a lifesaver when it comes to referencing, although we would always advocate checking any references too, but I don't know about you, but I always found referencing a bit of a pain and this really does actually make it a lot easier.

Parkin, Catherine 8:31

Well, absolutely Jacqui. Because as librarians, we do get a lot of enquiries from students about referencing- anything that can make it seem a little bit simpler is very much welcomed. As you say, this is important to underline here. It's always a very good idea to check your referencing against “Quote, Unquote”. So that's if you're doing Harvard. Or OSCOLA or APA guidelines, if you're a Law or Psychology student. Just it's important never to trust 100% in any online tool. I just thought I'd kind of mention that another potential frustration with students and with staff and with and with us, (with anyone really!) when technology doesn't quite work as expected. You know things don't work, links don't work, resources aren't where they should be.

Hunt, Jacqui 9:10

Yeah. Yeah.

Parkin, Catherine 9:27

That things aren't opening properly. What's your take on that? What should students do?

Hunt, Jacqui 9:33

Well, you can instantly report issues such as broken links to the Reading List team through the Online Reading List. You just click on the item and mark it as a broken link, and then we will instantly pick that up and have a look at it for you. You can also ask library staff about any help you need. Finding a resource or you can contact the Academic Librarians just as you would as if you were in the Library you can use any of those ports of call for advice, and there are a whole host of people that you can contact for help, not forgetting your lecturer themselves.

Parkin, Catherine 9:54

Hmm. Yes, absolutely loads and loads of people here who are so willing to help, and we love hearing from students. Now I'm aware that Talis, (which is the system we use here at Leeds Beckett for the Online Reading Lists), has some really, really helpful personalisation features now. I don't think enough people know about these.

Mm-hmm.

So now I'd like you to tell us a little bit more about these features and how they can help students.

Definitely. So you can mark which books you've read or are planning to read, and these are called ‘reading intentions’, and this means you can keep a track of the ones that you've already looked at or what you're going to look at next, or etc. So that can be really helpful. And students can enhance their note taking and summarisation skills too, because the system allows you to add your own notes, meaning you can add some comments to sort of remind you either about what you've read or some useful parts that you or things that you might want to come back to at a later date. And this can all reinforce retention and understanding.

Hmm. It's worth mentioning all these skills that we're talking about in in this podcast. You know, Jacqui, you just mentioned all that. The note taking, there's loads and loads of extra info on the Skills for Learning website about this. So if we've piqued your interest about note taking, there's loads of great advice on the Skills for Learning website about that.

Yep. Hmm.

So one thing occurred to me then when you mentioned note taking, can I check- are the notes that you add personal to you or can anyone else see your notes?

Yeah. Oh, don't worry. They're completely private. Yeah.

Oh, good, good, good, good. I know people might worry about that kind of thing. Now, students listening to this podcast might now, I hope, be spurred on to interact a little bit more with their Online Reading Lists. And I also hope if any staff are listening, they might also start to consider how they structure their lists so students can get the most out of them. There's been lots of really good advice about what students can get out of their lists. Now what help do staff and students have access to? If they need help at any point?

Well, the Library's got lots of handy YouTube videos that you can sort of click into and watch- nice and quick and short, as well as written instructions that you can access on the Library website too, which guide you through how to do all the various different things that we've mentioned today so far, such as searching for items, navigating the reading list, filtering for items or marking your reading intentions and adding your own personal notes and of courses we will also be running sessions on using the Library. So we really recommend these hands-on sessions.

Brilliant stuff and I'd like to add alongside that you can book in one-to-one appointments with Academic Librarians and Skills Tutors and alongside a whole host of other helpful guidance for studying, we can help you navigate your reading list.

You can also ask your tutor for help as well. Catherine, if the list is unclear or if you're not sure what you should be reading and when you should be reading it.

Yeah, we mustn't forget that. That's a good point. Now, sometimes we hear from our academic staff, don't we, Jacqui, that they worry students aren't doing wider reading these days? That is really necessary to get a well-rounded view of a subject. So what about those students who want more than just those resources on the list? So there's a school of thought from some that the reading lists are limiting students. They're denying them materials, you know, wider, a wider range of materials. What's your take on that?

Well, that's a bit of a misconception really. The Online Reading List doesn't limit you when it comes to further research or getting those extra sources that make you stand out. In fact, it's the opposite. The students in our research like to use it as a springboard into developing their own study. They see it as a trusted bank of resources, a safe pair of hands if you like. But by using the list, you will soon find yourself reading things and wanting to know more about it and you can totally pursue this. Students have access via the Library to thousands of journal articles, databases, books and eBooks, so there's loads more that students can be doing when it comes to research.

Yeah. Oh gosh, it's endless, isn't it? And it's worth reminding students. It's not just about what we've got here at Leeds Beckett Library. We can get items for you through a service called ‘Request It!’ that's available to staff and students. And that's a way of getting stuff we don't have in stock. So, books, journal articles, that kind of thing.

Oh. Yes, absolutely. So if you need something, just ask us. And don't forget the Internet can be a wonderful tool when used correctly too.

Hmm. When used correctly?! Absolutely. Yeah. So actually this is where Academic Librarians can be very helpful people to get to know. So part of our job is pointing students to those high-quality resources, helping students create search strings, making it more likely they'll find what they need and so on. And there's lots and lots of advice on finding information on those Skills for Learning websites that I mentioned previously. So in a nutshell, Jacqui, then you're saying, Online Reading Lists do not limit you. They do the opposite. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, totally the opposite. And academics can really support this too, by adding notes to their lists with links to databases or to the Library subject guides and guiding students to do that extra reading.

Lovely. Now perhaps a nice way to finish off would be if you can sum up the key features of Online Reading Lists, maybe in one paragraph. Can you do that?

Yep, they are an accessible and easy to use resource, so you can study from home whilst on the move as well as at the Library. They can be carefully curated by lecturers and professors to focus and direct your learning, meaning that you also save time and they make it easier to access your reading all in one place rather than looking in different places for all your reading materials, they're all there, and you can record and track your own reading by using the personalised features.

Yeah. Fabulous. So you could say our final takeaway message to anyone listening is ‘make the most of your reading lists, and if you've got ideas to improve them, please let your lecturers know’. So thanks ever so much for tuning into the podcast.

Yeah, OK. It's been great to have a chat about reading lists and I hope that students can take away some great tips.

Lovely to chat to you. Thank you.

Thank you, Catherine.