Reading List: Reading list guide for teaching staff

For any one course, we are able to accept copied material within the following limits:

• Up to 10% or one complete chapter of a book
• Up to 10% or one single article from a journal or periodical issue

All articles or extracts included in our collections must show full source details and we are  therefore only able to accept clearly referenced material, stating:

For books (inc. extracts):

• author
• title
• publisher
• year
• Page range

For journals (inc. articles):

• journal title
• author/title of article
• volume
• part
• year
• Page range

The current accord says it is a breach of the Licence if items are placed in a course collection with the intention that students will systematically copy them.

The Accord also says it is permissible to place items in the collection if the intention is to facilitate wider access by students within a restricted time-scale.  This is our intention in providing a course collection.

As part of our commitment to this, we expect all University staff and students using the Library course collections to follow these points as set out in the  Accord, i.e. staff and students have not, under any circumstances been instructed to copy items held in our course collections.

That is not to say copying is not allowed.  Fair dealing allows individuals to copy for the purposes of research or private study.

As space is limited, we ask that you only add items to the collection that many students will need. At the end of the session we remove underused items from the collections. 

For online items, our CLA Licence requires us to remove access to any items not required for teaching during the next session.

Please check your course collection holdings annually to ensure the collection does not include material more usefully held as part of the main collections.

• The Library course collections exist to ensure access to essential texts/items that are likely to be in high demand; in some cases for a limited time. 

• Our aim is to work with you to provide an effective collection and an efficient service.

A reading list can be created for any course/unit to include, for example, journal articles, extracts from books, lecture notes, exam questions and solutions etc., supplied by the lecturer(s). When preparing material for a reading list please:

• Ensure that any material you wish to add falls within the terms of the University's agreement with the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA).
• Note we are not permitted to accept articles or extracts you have obtained through inter-library loan for your personal use or private study.
• Not all requests for articles or extracts can be supplied from within our own collections. Under these circumstances, we will look to fulfil these requests from our network of external suppliers, such as the British Library. An additional copyright fee is often necessary and this will influence the decision on supplying the item and fulfilling the request

Requests for additions to stock are processed in the order in which they are received.  Please help us by supplying the following:

• Course code and course name the items are linked to. Students are able to search the reading list using the code or name of the course or directly on Blackboard.
• Online extracts / digitised articles: much of our collections now consist of digitised articles and book extracts. For inclusion in our course collections, these items must meet the relevant criteria of our HE Licence.
• Books (inc. new acquisitions): please make requests as early as possible to libenqs@soton.ac.uk before teaching begins, and a minimum of 7 working days before the material is required in case the item is on loan at the time of your request. When books need to be purchased suggestions should be made as early as possible. Please ensure orders indicate that the items are required for a specific course collection and are clearly marked with the course code and course name.
• Journal articles and other extracts: only texts deemed to be essential reading should be supplied for inclusion in the collection. Please note, where an article/extract is already available electronically (e.g. as part of an e-resource), we will not add a copy to the course collection

Reading lists:

These can be submitted and annotated to indicate those items for inclusion. Details of books in stock can be obtained from Library Search. Please remember to include:

• course code
• course name
• lecturer name

Textbook substitution:

The CLA HE licence includes reference to course packs or course collections not being a substitute for an appropriate textbook (textbook substitution). Guidelines in the form of a good practice guide are available to explain this.

We are here to help you. 

Hopefully, most of what you need is on this page. If not, please contact us:

Hartley: ext. 23208 email: collsupp@soton.ac.uk

Health Services: ext.6451 email: hslib@soton.ac.uk

NOL: ext. 26116 email: nol@noc.soton.ac.uk

WSA: ext. 26982 email: wsaenqs@soton.ac.uk