Library & Cultural Services: Reading Lists: Searching for and creating reading lists

A Talis reading list consists of sections, paragraphs, and bookmarks, and you can structure the list in whichever way best suits your course. You can find information about each of these features and how to add them to a reading list here.

Reading lists are divided into three main stages:

Published – the list is complete and visible to students. You can still make further changes to a published reading list.
Draft – the list may be incomplete and is not visible to students. You will need to make any changes necessary to the list and publish it.
No reading list – a reading list is not yet available for the module. You will need to create a new reading list or contact the library at libline@essex.ac.uk to get a reading list set up if you aren't sure how.

If you think that a reading list has already been created for your module on Talis, but you can’t find it, please contact the library and we can check for you.

Searching for a list

To find a published or draft reading list, search for the module code in the search bar on the Talis homepage:

If the reading list is assigned to you, you can also find it from the My Lists page:

Creating a list

If there is no Talis reading list for your module, you can create a new list.

To do this, you first need to log in to Talis. You then need to go to My Lists and select 'Create a new list' on the right-hand side.

Fill in the information about your module as follows:

List title: MODULE CODE: MODULE TITLE
Description: As reading lists can only have one list owner, you can add the names of other supervisors in the description field if other supervisors help deliver the course. Otherwise, this field can be left blank.
Year: Choose the correct time period for the list.
Hierarchy: You can search for your module here and link the list to the module hierarchy. This will ensure that the list is properly linked to Moodle once you publish it.

Once you have filled these fields, select 'Create list'.

After creating your list, the reading list team may need to assign the list to you. Please email libline@essex.ac.uk and we will do this for you.

Assigning a list to yourself

You can assign any reading list to yourself using the following guidance. Please note that reading lists can only be assigned to one person at a time, so this should usually be the module supervisor. If your module is taught between multiple members of staff, assign the list to the primary point of contact for the module.

All academic staff possess editing rights to all reading lists at the university, so assigning a list to yourself is not necessary to obtain editing rights to the list. The purpose of assigning a list owner is primarily to provide students with a point of contact if they have questions about the list. Library staff may also use it if we need to contact the module supervisor about resources on their list.

To assign a reading list to yourself, make sure you are logged into Talis and have the list open in front of you, select the 'Edit' drop-down menu in the top-right corner and then 'Assign list owner' from the list of results.

You will see a search bar which you can use to search for your own name and then select it from the list of results. Alternatively, an 'Assign to me' button should appear automatically which you can use to assign the list to yourself without having to search for your name. You can also use the search option to assign the list to another member of staff, if you know that they will be supervising the module. Please make sure you have obtained their permission to assign the list to them beforehand though!