Birmingham Newman University Library: Reading Strategies Guide: Library resources

Using Library resources

For each item you are recommending, ask yourself the following question:

Can the quantity of copies available provide the number of students who need the item with the length of time they need it for?

If not: how will the students get access to the material?

[Part A helps to answer the first question, Part B addresses the second]

Section A – Evaluating current provision

For books and e-books: what is currently available in the Library?

Are the books the latest editions?

For print books: how many copies do we have? Are they all loanable?

For e-books: what access do we have?

Our Resources guide can tell you about our loan types and the different access models that e-books may have.

How long will each student require this material for?

Throughout the entire module?
Several weeks?
A few days?
A few hours?

What will the material be used for?

General reading?
Preparation for a specific session / tasks? Will they all need to access it at the same time?
Essential reading for engagement in the module?
Essential reading for completing the assessment?

What proportion of the students on the module will require each specific item?

All of them?
Most of them?
A few of them?
Those who choose a particular option?
Those who are allocated a particular task (e.g. presenting at a seminar)?

Section B – strategies to improve provision

What else is in the Library that will also be useful?

Have you looked at the stock in the Library to see if there is other material that could supplement or substitute for your preferred material?

Is the item available electronically?

Subscribed to / purchased by the Library (journal articles / e-books / images / film-clips / historical documents etc.)?
Freely available on Government / Official sites (reports / legislation etc.)?
Free online digitised collections, such as Project Gutenberg (out-of-copyright literary works)?
Open Access book publishing, such as OpenStax (Open Access textbooks)?
Institutional or subject repositories (journal articles / theses / reports)?

How will you indicate this availability to the students? Will they know where to get it from?

Should the students be advised to buy the material?

Is there anything that they have already been advised to buy for another module that might be useful here?
Is the material still commercially available?
Would the material make a good investment for future modules, or for future professional practice?

Can it be digitised on Moodle?

Is it owned by the Institution? – i.e. by the Library or by the Subject Area, not by an individual.
Do you only require a single chapter of each book or a single article from each journal issue for the module?
Have you read the guidelines and policy on the Scans and copyright information page?
Is there sufficient time for the item to be scanned and put on Moodle?

Can you photocopy copies for the whole class and hand them out?

Is it owned by the Institution? – i.e. by the Library or by the Subject Area, not by an individual
Do you only require a single chapter of each book or a single article from each journal issue for the module?

Could several chapters or articles be combined to make a ’course reader’?

Have you read the CLA guidelines on coursepacks?
Is there sufficient time to assemble the resources in time for the module?
How will you distribute the pack? Will you charge for it?

Is the material only available in other institutions?

When would students be expected to visit other institutions? Many university libraries will not give access to undergraduate students from other universities during their own term-time. Some may also restrict all visitors at their own exam time

If there are only a limited range of available resources, could you consider a better resourced topic / theme which still meets the module and course outcomes?

Don't forget:

You can discuss all these issues with your Academic Service Librarian, who can offer support and advice on resources.

Last reviewed: 14 March 2024