Create and structure a new Reading List

A series of guides on using Reading Lists Online

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Copyright: University of Manchester Library

This guide will help you create and structure a new reading list on Reading Lists Online.

Contents

1. Check if there is an existing reading list for your course
2. Create a new reading list
3. Structure your list
4. Adding a section
5. Editing an existing section
6. Removing a section
7. Moving a section

1. Check if there is an existing reading list for your course

Before you create a new list, you will need to check whether there is already an existing list for this course.

To do this:

• Navigate to Reading Lists Online.
• Click the three horizontal lines at the top left-hand corner of the screen.
• Click ‘FIND LISTS’.
• Type in the module code in the search bar and click ‘SEARCH’. If no list appears, continue to step 2 below.
• If a list appears, please see this guide on how to populate an existing list.

NB. In June each year, we will duplicate all current reading lists in Reading Lists Online. At this time you will see two lists, your current list which will be locked for editing and your list for the next academic year which you can work on.

Current and new reading lists in Reading Lists Online

For information on this process for Semester 2021/22 lists, please click here.

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2. Create a new reading list

To create a new reading list:

• Click the three horizontal lines at the top left-hand corner of the screen.
• Click ‘LISTS’ in the left-hand menu.
• Click on the ‘➕ NEW LIST’ button on the top right of the screen.
• Complete the ‘Module Code & Title’ field. Add the name of the module.
• Add the name of the course lead in the description field. If your list is for a Distance Learning module, include this information here.
• Click on the ‘CREATE’ button.
• You will need to select a template reading list. You can Select the ‘Default’ template, the ‘Importance Tags’ template, or the ‘Semester’ template.

You can choose between three template options

• Click on ‘Manage course association’ to connect your reading list with your course.
• Select the correct course by typing a course code or name into the search box and click ‘ASSOCIATE & CLOSE’.

Associating a list to a course

The course code will appear in the list header. You are ready to start working on your new list.

If you cannot find your course, please contact the Reading Lists Team via uml.readinglists@manchester.ac.uk

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3. Structure your list

Before you can add items to your list, you need to give your list structure by adding sections. You can create structure in a number of ways, for example:

• Using time periods (e.g. ‘Semester 1’; ‘Week 3’)
• Indicating topic areas (e.g. ‘Research skills’; ‘Presentation’)
• Dividing by resource types: (e.g. ‘Books’; ‘E-resources’; ‘Journal articles’)

You will see on your list that you will already have one section created for you called ‘Resources’. You can choose to use this section within your list, rename the section, or remove the section. See the next steps on how to do this.

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4. Adding a Section

You can add as many sections as you need. To add a section:

• Click on ‘NEW SECTION’.
• Add a title for your section in the ‘Title’ field, e.g. ‘Week 1’.
• Add a description for your section in the ‘Description’ field, e.g. ‘Philosophy of Art’.
• Add a start and end date if applicable.
• Click on ‘CREATE’.

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5. Editing an existing Section

You may like to edit or rename an existing Section within the reading list. To do this:

• Click on the three action dots on the top right-hand side of the section.
• Click ‘Edit section’
• Rename the title in your section in the ‘Title’ field, e.g. ‘Week 1’.
• You can also add a description of your section within the ‘Description’ field
• Add a start and end date if applicable.
• Click ‘SAVE’

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6. Removing a Section

You may wish to remove a section from your list. To remove a section:

• Click on the three action dots on the top right-hand side of the section.
• Click ‘Delete section’.
• Click ‘OK’.

Removing a section

7. Moving a section

You may wish to move a section within your list. To move a section:

• Click the ‘toggle section view’ in the left hand corner of the screen

toggle section view

• Once you can see all the sections in a list, hover over the section you would like to move until you see a blue bar on the far right corner of the section
• Once this has appeared, click and hold your mouse to drag the section to where you would like it on the list.
• Alternatively, you can click the blue arrows at the top and bottom of the bar to move the section up and down the list.
• Once your sections are in the correct order, you can click on ‘toggle section view’ to return to the original reading list display.

You are now ready to populate your list, please go to our next guide for full instructions on how to do this.

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We hope you have found this guide helpful. If you have any questions you can contact the Reading Lists Team via uml.readinglists@manchester.ac.uk.