Reading lists

When reviewing your list please think about the following:

• Investigate the eBooks the library already has in stock, can any of these be used to replace or supplement the print books on your list? To see what we have go to LibrarySearch, try different keywords and narrow the results to eBooks by using the refining options.
• Consider alternative types of material – would an online journal article cover the information needed? How about a web page? Both of these can be added to your reading list.
• Consider eBook access models and if they will meet your needs – see later in the guide for more info about eBooks and contact readinglists@rgu.ac.uk if you need to know what the access models are for any books we have in the library.
• Contact readinglists@rgu.ac.uk to see if your preferred print book can be bought as an eBook. Please be aware it might not be available.
• If the book is only in print can a key chapter be digitised? See later in the guide for more about digitisations.
• Unsure about what to include? Our Academic Support team can help. Contact library.support@rgu.ac.uk with topics / keywords and they can send you lists of possible eBooks etc.
• Think about adding notes to the items on your list, tagging them as essential/recommended/optional, or creating sections. This will make your lists more user friendly.

If you would like to check what you currently have on your lists, simply go to the reading lists home page, enter your module number or module name in the search box, and search.

You will then be able to access your list. Remember to check you are looking at the most recent list by looking for the 2024/25 information.

The reading lists guide for staff can be accessed here https://library.rgu.ac.uk/reading-lists/staff.

Please note that as we get closer to the start of term we generally get an increased number of list requests from staff. We will work on the lists in the order we receive them and will update lists/create lists/place orders as quickly as possible but may not be able to guarantee the lists being ready and items being available for a particular date.

eBooks

Library eBooks are accessible to everyone but it is important to be aware of some issues related to how eBooks work.

eBooks are available on lots of different platforms and each will operate in a different way. You may be able to view the whole book or be asked to open it chapter by chapter.

There are lots of different access models. When buying eBooks the library looks to get the widest model possible. Some of the most common models are:

• 1 user model – can be accessed by one person at a time but there is no limit on how many times it can be accessed through the year.
• 3 user model - can be accessed by three people at a time but there is no limit on how many times it can be accessed through the year.
• Credit model – each time a book is accessed a credit is used, these renew each year and we can, usually but not always, buy additional if needed.
• Non-linear model – works the same way a credit model does.
• Unlimited – no restrictions on the number of people who can access at once or throughout the year.

Publishers will dictate what model an eBook can have, some give several options, others will be limited, for example we may only be able to buy a 1 user model.

In addition, more and more publishers are now making their material available via the eTextbook model. These are usually subscriptions, rather than one off purchases, and costs are generally based on a “cost per student per module” model. This generally makes them very expensive and unfortunately means fewer titles are available to buy via the standard models detailed above.

For example, if you want to assign reading for a specific seminar and the eBook is a 1 user model, this may lead to some students being unable to access the reading. In this scenario, we could digitise the chapter you want the students to read. If you want to know the access model for any eBook, please contact readinglists@rgu.ac.uk. In addition, LibrarySearch records will show the model for some eBooks in the “View Online” section e.g.

What can be done with eBooks:

• All can be read online, some will offer download options
• Most eBooks will only allow printing within copyright rules i.e. they dictate how many pages can be printed.
• Some eBooks are DRM free, this means the book can be downloaded and kept by each student.

To see what we have go to LibrarySearch, try different keywords and narrow the results to eBooks by using the refining options.

Digitisation

If you want to make any material available digitally to your students e.g. a book chapter or a journal article this should be done through the library’s digitisation service. Academic staff cannot scan and upload these to modules on Moodle.

This is because:

• It must meet copyright limits i.e. only a certain amount can be legally copied – the library will check that for you.
• The item must allow copying and some are excluded from this – the library will check that for you.
• The institution must own the item i.e. the library has to have it in stock (or a department must have a copy it makes available to everyone) – again we will check that and order a copy if needed.
• Full copyright information must be included – the library does this by adding a cover sheet to the digital copy.
• Records of what is made available digitally have to be submitted once a year to the Copyright Licensing Agency – if we do not do this for each digitisation we are in breach of our agreement – the library does this through our reading lists system.

To find out more about the service take a look at the Digitisation Service for Staff Guide.

Then simply review any material you would like to make available digitally to your students and contact the library to get this organised.

Email readinglists@rgu.ac.uk with details of the item, course name, module number, number of students on the module and the date when the item is required for.

We will check if the item you require can be made available as a digital copy under the CLA License. We'll then scan it, create the audit records required, and make the item available through your online reading list.