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Make items available for students

Leeds Reading List system

Use the Leeds Reading Lists system in Minerva to create or update your module reading lists. We will purchase new items if needed and link them to your list.

Reading lists that you make publicly available will appear online through the Find Lists webpage.

How to use the Leeds Reading Lists system

Here’s how to get started with the Leeds Reading List system.

On this page:

If you can’t find the help you need below, please contact our reading lists team.

Create a new list and add references

In the reading list system, click “New List” and give your list a title. You can select from one of the existing templates or start with a blank list.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to create a reading list:

Q and As for creating a list

Can I copy and paste references into my list?

Unfortunately you cannot copy and paste text from a Word document.

What's the most references I can include in a list?

There is no limit to the number of items you can include in your reading list, but you might experience usability issues when editing very long lists. Issues can be reduced by dividing lists into sections of 20 citations or fewer.

Alternatively, longer lists can be broken down into separate, shorter reading lists. Please contact the Library for help in performing either of these actions.

Can I create a list before it has a Minerva module area?

Please contact us if you wish to create a list before a module area is live.

Citations aren't appearing in my list, or are duplicating themselves

Refresh your list using the refresh icon at the top of the list (rather than refreshing your browser). This should resolve both issues.

How can I see the student view of my reading list?

It is not possible to see how a list will appear to your students using the student-view function within Minerva.

Instead, click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the list title and select “View List as a Student”. When you wish to leave the student view and return to your list, simply click the “X” in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Watch our video walkthrough of How to see the student view of a reading list (opens in YouTube).

Add sections to a list

Structure your list by adding sections. You can add as many sections as you need, allowing you to divide content by week, by topic or by resource type.

Use the “Toggle Section View” to switch between a section-level or an all-citations view. This is a button with three horizontal lines at the top of the list.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to add sections to a list:

Add items to a list with Library Search

Add resources to your list using the library catalogue search.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to add items from the Library Search to a list:

Add items that can’t be found using Library Search

If you have used Library Search to try to find an item, but it is not in stock or online, then you can choose “add item” and select the Blank Form option. Please add as many details as you can to help us to source and provide the resources you need.

Add items from webpages using the Cite It tool

Cite it! lets you add resource details directly from a website. For example, if you open a YouTube video and then click the Cite It tool, this will create a citation for the YouTube video within your reading list. Cite It can be used for books, journal articles and many other resource types, and will let you know whether we have subscription access to the journals you are citing from. You can add items via Cite It without even having the reading lists system open.

To install the tool, go to the user icon (your initials in the top right) in the reading lists system, click Cite it! then drag and drop into your bookmark bar.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to use the Cite It tool:

Add a new edition of a book to a list

To add a new edition of a book, add a new citation to the list for the new edition and use the Library Discussion area within that citation. Let us know it is a replacement for the previous edition by adding: New edition required to replace existing edition.

Use tags for Core items or to request a digital copy

Label your essential reading items with a “Core” tag. This will let your students know which resources are important and alert us to make sure there is enough access in place.

You can also use tags to let us know which items you would like digitising. If you want to request a scan of a chapter or extract of an item please use the OCR tag. We can digitise items and make them available through the reading list system (scans are no longer uploaded to Minerva). Read more about the OCR (Online Course Readings) service and the copyright restrictions in place.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to tag an item on a list:

Make notes to students

Leave information for your students by making public notes on citations or sections.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to write a note for students:

Communicate with the Library

Get in touch with us by using the Library Discussion area located in the right-hand panel in your module’s reading list. Use this area to send any general queries about your list or resources. If you want to send a message about a particular item on your list, you can click into its citation and use the Library Discussion area within that citation.

Watch a video walkthrough on how to send a comment to the Library:

We will reply to you in the same area and you will also receive an email alert so you know to check your list for our reply. Watch our video on How to find and read replies from the library (opens in YouTube).

Q and As for communicating with us

How do I indicate that my module doesn't have a reading list?

If your module does not require a reading list, click “New List” in the reading list system and give your list the title “No List for this Course”. Select the template “This module does not have a reading list”.

My module is taught via distance learning – do I need to do anything differently?

Please let us know by using the Library Discussion area located in the right-hand panel in your module’s reading list. If there are any issues making material tagged “Core” available online we will let you know by using the Library Discussion.

Publish your list

When you are ready to make a new list available to your students, do this by clicking “Publish”.

Publishing your list will also send it to the Library. We will check that we have the resources you recommend in an appropriate format.

If your list already exists and is published, any edits you make will automatically be sent to the Library. You don’t need to re-send or re-publish the list – we will pick up any updates you make.

Q and As for publishing your list

When should I publish my list?

You only need to publish your list if it is a new reading list. You can publish a reading list at any time. The Library will be alerted when it has been published and we will start to process your list.

We recommend you publish your list at least 8 weeks before your module begins, so that we have enough time to make the resources available for your students.

For Distance Learning courses, it is likely that we will need extra time to ensure electronic access can be provided for all the resources you recommend. If at all possible, please publish your list 3 months prior to the start of teaching.

Can I send my list to the Libraries to process, but keep it hidden from students?

If you want the Library to process your reading list but don’t yet want to make it available to your students, you can go to the Module content area in Minerva and set the link in the reading list system to “Hidden from Students”.

How do I restrict access to my list so that only students on my course can see it?

When you publish a reading list, the reading list system will prompt you to select the privacy settings for the list. You can choose to set the list to be:

  • publicly available
  • available only to Leeds University students
  • available only to students registered on the module.

If you need to change the level of access, you must un-publish, make the changes and then re-publish your list.

Lists that are publicly available may be accessed through our Find Lists webpage.

Managing your lists

You can manage and manipulate your reading lists in different ways.

Q and As for managing your lists

Can I link to my list from elsewhere in Minerva?

Do not create a link by copying the URL in your browser, as this URL doesn't give the permissions students need to see the list.

Instead, follow these instructions to create a link to your list:

  1. Click the “+” icon within your Minerva module area
  2. Select “Content Market”
  3. Find “Module Reading List”
  4. Click the “+” icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the “Module Reading List” tool entry.

Do this to create a link to a particular section of your list:

  • Open the list in the module area and go to the relevant section
  • Click the ellipsis next to the section heading and choose “re-link from Blackboard to here”.

The links generated in these ways will continue to recognise student permissions and will open the whole list or a particular section. When a link is added correctly, it will appear with a page icon rather than a link icon.

How can I export a copy of my reading list?

To keep a copy of a reading list, you can export any list by clicking on the ellipsis (three dots) next to the list title and selecting “Export”.

You can export in a variety of formats, including .ris (used in EndNote and Mendeley) and PDF. If you export to PDF or Word, the file will retain the links to electronic versions of any resources within the list, so you can still quickly access them outside of the reading list system.

Watch our video walkthrough of How to export a copy of your reading list (opens in YouTube)

How can I see a version of the list from a previous year?

The system uses the same list every year within Minerva Ultra Course View. Updating the list in the current module area will concurrently update the list in the earlier module areas. If you want to keep a version for reference before updating it for a new year, export a copy of the list.

There is a process in place to allow resit students to access their reading lists as they appeared during their year of study.

How do I remove a list from active teaching, but still keep it for reference?

If you want to remove a list from teaching, but don’t want to permanently delete the reading list, you can remove its association with your course. The list will remain in the reading list system but will not be accessible via any Minerva module.

To remove the module association for a list, click the ellipsis (three dots) by the list title, and select “Manage Course Association”. Click the ellipsis next to the existing module and select “Remove this course”. Click close and the list will no longer be attached to the module.

You can reassociate the list with one of your modules at any point in the future, and it will be accessible again in the module area for that course.

How do I permanently delete a reading list from the system?

You can permanently delete a list by entering the reading list, clicking the ellipsis (three dots) by the list title, and selecting “Delete list” from the menu.

Be aware that if you delete your list, there is only a short window of 30 days in which it is possible to retrieve it from the system. After 30 days has expired, the list will be permanently deleted.

How do I copy a reading list for next year’s module?

You do not have to take any action to copy your reading list for the next academic year. The link to the reading list system will be present in a Minerva module area as soon as the module is created.

I’m not teaching my module this year. How do I make my reading list available in the future?

The link to the reading list system will be present in a Minerva module area as soon as the module is created. If a list exists for the course, it will always be accessible to the tutor via this link.

How do I add another list to a module?

Usually, one reading list per module works well. But sometimes it’s useful to have more than one list, for example, if more than one tutor is teaching on the course, or if the list is especially long.

From within the existing reading list in Minerva, go to the back arrow next to the menu icon (three horizontal lines). This shows you all the lists attached to that module. Click on the “+ New list” button on the right, add the details, click “Create” and choose a template.

You will need to link this new list to the module area, or it won’t be visible to students. Click “Associate list” and find the right module and confirm by clicking “Associate & close”.

Watch our video walkthrough on How to add an additional reading list to your module area (opens in YouTube)

How can I reuse a reading list for a different module?

Duplicating a list to use in a different module can save you time if you are teaching similar course content in different modules.

Within the reading list you would like to copy, click the ellipsis (three dots) at the top and choose “Duplicate list”. This will open a copy with the same title but with (1) added. Go to the ellipsis menu again and choose “Manage course association”. Enter the title or code of the module where you want the duplicate list to appear, check the details and choose to “Associate & close”.

You can change the title, edit and update the list, and it should appear in the relevant module area. Remember to publish the list to make it available.

Watch our video walkthrough on How to reuse a reading list for another module (opens in YouTube)

How can I tell if students are engaging with my reading list?

Use the “View List Analysis” function to see how much your students are engaging with the resources on your reading list.

Other help and support

We recommend that you also check the Digital Education Systems news and updates for information about any current technical issues.

If you need further advice or support, please email the Acquisitions and Reading Lists team (readinglists@leeds.ac.uk).