Is creating a resource list policy the key to getting academic staff engaged?

At our online event, Talis Insight Webinars 2021, we heard from Bath Spa University Library about their resource list policy. 

They worked with stakeholders from each academic school as well as students to create a standardised approach across the university. Their Resource List policy was approved by curriculum and education committees, ensuring institutional-wide buy-in from staff. The goal of the project was to make it easier to get academics engaged and for them to use Talis Aspire Resource Lists to benefit their students’ learning experience.

The resource list policy aimed to ensure quality and consistency for students in the resource lists provided by academic staff. 

Each list was to be created with 4 standardised headings or sections:

• Key (guideline of maximum of 5 resources to be listed for each module, must be available digitally)
• Further (additional materials)
• Recommended for student purchase (to provide clarity for students on financial impact of modules)
• Weekly or topic lists (expansion of the further reading section, e.g. specific journal articles)

As well as creating these guidelines, the Bath Spa University team looked at best practice examples from other universities using Talis Aspire to provide a resource list toolkit. 

Within this toolkit, staff could find the resource list policy, as well as resource list training via ‘stepping stones’ online guides with bitesized videos and easy to understand training materials. Their goal was to provide a clear, straightforward guide that makes it easy for staff to create lists.

Another element of the policy was providing deadlines pre-semester for lists so that the library can be prepared, have all the requested digitisations prepared and purchase any materials that were missing. 

To find out more about Bath Spa University’s Resource List Policy, and to learn about their approach to ebooks, watch their 8 minute presentation below:

Richard Swales, Deputy Director of Library Services, Hazel Grainger, Collections Librarian and Lis Wallace, Subject Librarian, Bath Spa University.

To learn more about Talis Aspire resource lists, click here, or email sales@talis.com for a demo.

To watch more content from the event, click here.