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Reading Lists Online - advice for students

How to use Reading Lists Online

Creating a profile

Creating a student profile on Reading Lists Online allows you to use additional features and personalise the reading list. 

To create a profile, find your reading list either via Moodle or the Library homepage, and select Log In in the red Reading Lists Online banner at the top of the page. You just need your City email and password to log on. Then choose Create profile.

Screenshot of Reading Lists Online red banner, with sub navigation links including the link to Log In.

There is a short form to complete.  You will need to add your name, surname and City email address.  Under "I describe myself as" you will need to indicate whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student.  

We recommend that students keep their profile private. 

Personal notes 

You can add personal notes to any item on the reading list. Nobody else will be able to view your annotations. 

You may find it useful to add personal notes to the references, especially if the book or the article you have read is a good resource for one of your future essays.  You may want to make a note of selected pages, or the chapter that covers the topic you will be writing about, and you can use as supporting evidence for your argument.  

To add a personal note, go to a reference on the reading list.  Select the 3 dots on the right hand side of the screen, then choose Personal note.  Add the text and ensure you save the message.  You can edit and delete the notes at any time. 

Screenshot of open View Actions menu where you will find a link to Personal note.

Remember that you can use the Filter drop down menu at the top of the reading list to refine to references that you have annotated. 

Reading intentions

Creating a personal profile on Reading Lists Online also gives you the option to assign reading intentions to the references on your reading list.  This feature may help you to plan ahead and manage your time and your readings.  

To set the reading intention find the reference on the reading list and select the circle on the right hand side of the screen, to open the reading intention menu. Then choose your option.  You can edit this at any time. 

A screenshot of references in Reading Lists online. Each item has a reading intentions menu with the options Undecided, Will read, Reading now, Have read and Won't read.

Nobody else can view your reading intentions.  If you use the Filter drop down menu at the top of the reading list, you can filter the references to the reading options you have allocated.  

The lecturer who created the list will have an anonymous overview of all reading intentions for their list. 

To print a reading list

If you want to print a copy of the reading list, see the View & Export drop down menu at the top right hand corner of the list. Select the PDF - List option from the menu, if you want a print copy of the reading list broken down into topics / weekly readings, or PDF - Bibliography to see the references listed in A-Z format.  

Please note - the lists added to Reading Lists Online are interactive. A PDF of the list will not include shelfmarks, hyperlinks or direct links to the online resources.  

The View and export drop down menu, shows the options to export to RIS, CSV, PDF - List or PDF - Bibliography