Author Archives: alaurins

Semester Two deadlines: 12th October and 9th November

I know, I know, Semester One has barely started and already we’re asking you to send us your Semester Two reading lists.

We have two deadlines:

  1. Library creates Resource List, deadline: 12th October 2015
  2. Course Organiser creates Resource List, deadline: 9th November 2015

Deadlines explained….

12th October 2015 – Library creates Resource List

If you have a reading list that you would like the Library Learning Services team to convert into a beautifully formatted Resource List using Talis Aspire, then please send your list along with a completed Resource List Coversheet to IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk by 12th October.

The Resource List coversheet should be completed for each list submitted. The coversheet  gives us all the information we need to prioritise and process you list, e-reserve scans and book recommendations.

When we’ve created your list we’ll send you a summary of the items on your list, books, journals and articles, with information on how many copies are held and at what libraries.

Clearly indicate on the reading list supplied which items you’d like scanned and we’ll pass on these to the e-reserve team.

Also, provided you have prioritised your list using, Essential, Recommended and Further reading and tell us the expected number of students, we’ll make any book recommendations for additional, or new copies, based on the ratios in the table below.

9th November 2015 – Course organiser creates Resource List

Alternatively, you can use Talis Aspire to create your Resource List(s) yourself. There is a range of user guides to help you get started. If you’re not already registered to use Resource Lists, contact IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk to request access.

If you publish the list by 9th November, prioritise the items on your list and use ‘Note for Library’ to provide details of any e-reserve requests, we’ll review your list, pass on your e-reserve requests, check for number of copies, and, based on the ratios in the table below, pass on any book recommendations for additional or new copies.

Priority Purchased Moved to
Essential 1 copy per 20 students HUB/Reserve
Recommended 1 copy per 40 students Short Loan
Further Reading Direct request required from Course Organiser – 1 copy purchased. Standard Loan

Please note that in order to align services, the Resource Lists Semester Two deadlines are the same as the e-reserve deadlines

There’s more information on the Resource Lists @ Edinburgh service on the IS website.

If you have any questions or would like to arrange a short training session, please get in touch: Library.Learning@ed.ac.uk

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services Manager

Publish your Semester One lists

As teaching for Semester One has started, the Library Learning Services team would like to encourage you to publish your Semester One resource lists.

Lists from 2014/15 were rolled over…….

If you were using Resource Lists last year, your list will have been rolled over. This means that a new 2015/16 version is waiting for you to publish.

To publish your resource list for 2015/16, follow the steps below

Sign in to Resource Lists @ Edinburgh and go to ‘My Lists’.

  1. Click on the 2014/15 list. There will be a pale blue note at the top of the list saying ‘A newer version of this list exists in draft form. Click here to review’.
  2. Click through to view the new 2015/16 draft list. Click on the ‘Add to my Lists’ button on the top right of the screen.
  3. You should now see a new 2015/16 version of your list in ‘My Lists’
  4. The list will remain in draft until you decide to publish it.

Once you’ve published your list, check that it’s linked to a course code (if it is, there will be a course code in red in the the top right of the screen) and use the Resource List tool on Learn or Moodle to link your course and your resource list. There’s a short guide explaining how to do this: Adding the Resource List tool in Learn or Moodle (PDF)

If you need any help, please get in touch: library.learning@ed.ac.uk 

 

DiscoverEd goes live: update on Resource Lists @Edinburgh

The Library launched its new discovery service, DiscoverEd on Tuesday 30th June. DiscoverEd replaced both the Library Catalogue and Searcher, as well as the ejournal portal.

Resource Lists updated
Items on your resource lists have been updated and should now link to item records in DiscoverEd.

We have completed a series of initial checks and are happy that most of the items linking to library holdings have updated successfully.

Continue reading →

New for 2015/16: Use Resource Lists (Talis Aspire) to manage e-reserve, course (print reserve) & book recommendations

For session 2015/16 the Library is making it easier to request core teaching materials. We are Beta testing using Resource Lists @ Edinburgh (Talis Aspire) as a single contact point for processing e-reserve requests, course (print) reserve and book recommendations.

Please note, if you don’t want to provide the extra information via resource lists, you can continue to publish your lists and make e-reserve requests and book recommendations in the usual way.

The options described below are for Course Organisers who want to manage requests for e-reserve scans, course (print) reserve and book recommendations via their resource list(s).

There are two options for ALL Course Organisers creating NEW resource lists for session 2015/16:

Option 1. Create the resource list yourself using Talis Aspire, include the additional information requested by the Library and publish your list by *7th August*. The Library will process any e-reserve requests, course (print) reserve and book recommendations.

Option 2. Send your reading lists to the Library by *13th July*, provide the additional information requested and the Library will process any e-reserve requests, course (print) reserve and book recommendations and hand the list back to you to publish.

Existing Talis Aspire users are asked to review and republish their lists by *7th August* and to use ‘Note for Library’ on Talis Aspire to provide the additional information required by the Library. The Library will process any new e-reserve requests, course (print) reserve and book recommendations.

NB: Deadlines are for Semester One resource lists. We will circulate further deadlines for Semester two in due course.

Guidance on how to manage new and existing resource lists (using Talis Aspire) and the information required by the Library to process any e-reserve requests, course (print) reserve and book recommendations is provided on the website: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/research-teaching-staff/resource-lists/using-resource-lists/overview

Continue reading →

Semester Two resource lists

Approximately 200 resource lists were published using Talis Aspire in time for the start of Semester One. Library staff now have a number of resource lists to create for Semester Two.

If you would like us to create a resource list for your course, and then hand it over to you for ongoing maintenance, please send your reading lists to IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk by 28th November.

Please provide the course code (s), indicate how many students are expected and, if possible, prioritise the items on your list(s).

Please only send us lists you intend to publish for Semester Two classes. We will issue a request for reading lists for Session 2015/16 in the New Year.

As always, Library Learning Services is available for demos, training sessions and 1-2-1s.

If you’d like access to Resource list@ Edinburgh (using Talis Aspire) please email IS.helpline@ed.ac.uk

Dashboard Statistics: up- to-date

Good news! Dashboard statistics on resource lists are now up-to-date and working as expected.

The dashboard statistics show the number of page views, clicks on the list and the number of annotations made by students (the actual annotations are private to the student). The dashboard also provides a metadata check and suggests where you can make improvements. You can also see if the edition on your list is the most recent and if the library has a copy.

You can view your resource list’s dashboard by clicking on the green ‘Dashboard’ button at the top of the list. Click this button to see a short tutorial on Dashboard statistics.

If the number of views and clicks are lower than expected you may need to promote the list to students or try embedding the list in your Learn or Moodle course using the resource lists tool. How to integrate resource lists with Learn and Moodle.

Dashboard statistics – missing data

If you have checked your resource list dashboard recently, I hope you have not been too disheartened. The statistics currently displaying on the list dashboard are a month out of date.

This week it became obvious that there was a huge discrepancy between the statistics showing on the dashboard and those recorded by Google Analytics (which we also capture). For example, the most viewed resource list is showing four times as many pages views on Google Analytics than on the list dashboard.

Talis Aspire have acknowledged that the dashboard statistics have not been updating as they should. They are in the process of adding the data for the last month.

We will let you know when the dashboard statistics have been updated.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services

Course organisers, please publish your first semester lists

Library staff and our fantastic interns, Katrin and Gemma, have had a busy few weeks creating over 150 Resource Lists sent to us by CHSS staff. All of the first semester lists, received by the cut-off date, 25th August, have been created.

Most of the Resource Lists have been published. However, there are still some resource lists which remain unpublished. Course organisers, if you have not published your Resource List, can you please do so now.

All course organisers should have received a notification email from Library Learning Services with a spreadsheet detailing book/ejournal availability. Course organisers should also have received an email (via Talis) inviting them to accept the role of List Publisher, allowing them to edit and publish the list.

If you haven’t published your list yet, please check your junk mail folder for the email invite. If you can’t find the original invite, please email:  Library.Learning@ed.ac.uk  and we’ll send you another.

If your list remains unpublished for a reason, can you let us know please?

We’re really keen that all the hard work spent creating the lists doesn’t go to waste and that students can take full advantage of using ResourceLists@Edinburgh.

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services Manager

Edinburgh’s Zombie Resource List is a winner

The University of Edinburgh has won Talis Aspire’s Reading List challenge!

Congratulations to Stephanie (Charlie) Farley creator of the winning list, which beat 26 other entries from across the UK at this week’s Talis User group meeting at the University of Leicester. #taug2014

Do Not Feed the Zombie

Zombie Apocalypse Guide – How to access resources during a zombie outbreak or other event generated quite a buzz, with many other universities keen to use Charlie’s list as an example in their own institution.

Charlie, now infamous for her marketing genius and zombie knowledge, created this list to provide information on accessing e-resources on and off-campus. She used the theme of a zombie apocalypse to brighten up what can be a fairly dull, and often confusing, subject for students.
Many of the items on the list link to existing Library webpages or services, pointing students in the right direction for any help they might need.

The resources (books, articles and webpages) used on the list are intriguing and fun and encourage you to explore the Library’s e-resources: Zombies and mathematical modelling, the epidemiology of a zombie apocalypse……who’d have thunk it??

Of course, there is a serious point to all this, and Charlie has included a lot of informative notes on the list which format well when exported to a PDF file, providing students with a useful and easy to follow guide to accessing e-resources. There is also guidance within the list to show how users (both academic and student) can make the most of Resource Lists features such as notes and read status.

This Resource List is one of the Library Guides which you’ll find on ResourceLists@ Edinburgh (search for ‘ ‘library guides’) : http://resourcelists.ed.ac.uk .

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services Manager.

Hands-on sessions in June bookable via MyEd

We’ve organised two hands-on sessions in June to introduce Resource Lists @ Edinburgh using Talis Aspire. Sessions are bookable via MyEd.

The sessions will begin with an Introduction to the Resource List system followed by a hands-on workshop where attendees will be able to try out the system and start creating their own Resource Lists with the support and guidance of Library Staff.

The sessions are open to all Course Organisers, Programme Directors, College/School IT staff or Admin staff and Library staff who may create lists on behalf of others.

Dates/Times/Venue

Wed 18th June 2014: 2-4pm, Main Library, George Square, Training Rm 1.12

Wed 25th June 2014: 2-4pm, Main Library, George Square, Training Rm 1.08

Before you attend

When you register for the session, you will be sent an email inviting you to register to use Talis Aspire. Please follow the link in the email to accept the invitation. This will give you access to the Resource List system.

If you can’t make either of these dates

If you are interested in Resource Lists @ Edinburgh but can’t attend on these dates, please get in touch. We are happy to arrange alternative training sessions for individuals or small groups.

More information on Resource Lists @ Edinburgh is available on the IS website:  http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/research-teaching-staff/resource-lists

Angela Laurins, Library Learning Services