Online reading lists at LSE
Online Reading Lists are a collaborative tool for academic departments, students and the Library. You can create your reading list online, and students can easily access their readings, whether online or in print. We will use this information to acquire the readings needed for your course.
Contact your Librarian for setup and support, information on copyright for teaching staff, and how to embed the list into Moodle. New staff are especially encouraged to contact their Librarian for an introduction to online reading lists and to discuss resources needed for teaching and research. You can also use our Support for Online Reading Lists Moodle page or watch a series of videos to learn how to use the system.
Deadlines for Autumn and Winter terms
We receive a very high volume of requests for readings in advance of term start dates. Ideally your online reading list should be completed, and a review requested, by the following dates. We will continue to process lists coming in after these dates, but the more advance notice we have of your content needs, the more likely we will be able to source the readings for you by the start of teaching.
- Autumn term: 20 August
- Winter term: 30 November
Book provision for teaching
We take a flexible approach to acquisitions and prioritise the purchase of material in the following order:
- We will purchase Ebooks and obtain digital chapters and extracts as a default first preference. This will allow all students to access readings, no matter where they’re based. We are unable to purchase titles in both formats.
- We will order print if no Ebook option is available. Please be aware that the supply time is approximately 4 to 6 weeks for titles currently in print and in stock with our suppliers.
- Both electronic and print purchases will be prioritised for Essential readings in the first instance, then Background purchases as funds and time allow.
Note that if you only need a chapter of a book, adding it as a chapter on the reading list improves the possibility of obtaining it. If it is not available as an Ebook, we are usually able to obtain a scanned reading elsewhere, copyright permitting.
Audiovisual provision for teaching
The Library will try to provide streaming access to films that are required for teaching and marked Essential Reading List items only. We will source via our approved suppliers in the first instance, and failing that, approach distributors to see if it is possible to secure a digital site license which can be hosted on LSE's Microsoft Stream account.
Academic staff can also check availability of films on Box of Broadcasts, which has an archive of over 2.5 million broadcasts from free-to-air channels. We are not in a position to purchase DVDs, Blu-Rays, or streaming access from Amazon, Netflix, or other consumer marketplaces, as these suppliers are not contracted under procurement regulations to sell to UK Higher Education Institutions.
Please make sure that all films needed for teaching are added correctly to your reading list, as an Audiovisual Document. We will check availability, and if we obtain access, we will add the link directly to the item on the reading list.
Library staff working for you
We also purchase improved licences of electronic texts when they become available. This is to provide seamless access and a better user experience for students.
Content providers regularly change technical settings, leading to broken links. The Library fixes these links on Online Reading Lists in the background. This means academic staff do not have to perform housekeeping and link checking work with their reading lists. The Library works on behalf of the departments to ensure constant access to resources for students.
LSE Library Get It For Me service
LSE staff and students can request non-teaching content items, whether these are articles, chapters or Ebooks, by using the Get It For Me service.