The rise of library centric reading list systems
A report has been published on the rise of reading list systems within Higher Education, examining their impact, how they are being used across different areas of the university and how they will continue to make a difference to student experience in years to come.
The report was written by Ken Chad, a consultant who works to help with strategy, innovation and reviewing systems in order to help make libraries more effective. He has worked in libraries, as well as with software businesses, he is now the director of Ken Chad Consulting.
The report looks at three key areas:
- Motivations for deploying a reading list solution
Ken examines the role a reading list plays within the structure of the university, and how this can streamline workflows. Speaking to librarians from universities from the UK and Asia-Pacific regions, he explores how the implementation of reading lists can often be a strategic decision.
- The impact of reading lists
This section of the report is broken down again into three sections, to explore how reading lists affect those that come into contact with them: students, academics and librarians. This section also looks at the challenges of introducing new software to academics and students, and how different library teams overcome these obstacles.
- Directions for the future
As we move forward, it’s clear that analytics from reading lists will play a bigger role in helping academics and librarians select content for reading lists, further streamlining workflows and making purchasing decisions more effective. This, coupled with a push towards a more pedagogical view of reading lists, will continue to improve student experience and get the most out of the reading list tool.
