2022 reading lists

Publish your reading list!

Please publish your list at least 6 weeks before teaching starts on your module, any later and some items may not be available to students at the start of teaching

Need help?

Contact your Subject Librarian if you need help or advice on creating or updating your reading list

Your reading lists made easy!

Leganto Reading Lists is an interactive, student facing reading list system that allows academics and administrators to build lists for students and manage, edit and update them in one place.

Leganto enables Library Services to quickly and easily check lists to ensure items are available for students.

Students can access reading lists via the Find Lists button, or VLEs such as Blackboard or the Business School Hub. Leganto allows students to view all the readings for their courses in one place, create their own collections of useful material and comment and collaborate with other students.

Reading lists for the Business School and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are currently only available to members of Imperial. 

Reading lists which include copyright restricted citations cannot be viewed via Find Lists and must be accessed via departmental VLEs.

If you need help with Leganto please ASK the Library including the name of your course.

Leganto Reading Lists for staff

This guide will help you get started with Leganto. For more detailed information download theLeganto handbook for staff (pdf) or the Leganto handbook for Business School Administrators (pdf).

Reading Lists Guide

How to access and view your lists

Access and view your lists from www.imperial.ac.uk/reading-lists

Use your College username and password to log in. The first time you access Leganto Reading Lists you may see a help wizard on the welcome screen.

When you log in to Leganto, you will see a list of the modules for which you are the convenor. Please check that everything is accurate for the new term.

If you don’t see your reading list/s when you open Leganto please contact library@imperial.ac.uk with the details of the module and the reading list and we will create a new list for you which you can then amend in future years.

Leganto terminology

Use the following terminology when you add a reading level designation tag to items in Leganto.

Our reading list team will identify the number of copies and the format.

Core reading – essential to the course, all students will need to use this text

Supplementary reading – supplementary texts, students are encouraged to use these texts

Background reading – additional texts suggested for background subject area reading

Books are purchased in accordance with the Library's Collections policy.

Library Services will buy multiple copies of an item designated as Core reading. Usually only one copy will be purchased of items designated as supplementary reading. We do not buy copies of items designated as background reading.

Where possible, Library Services will seek to provide electronic access to specified book chapters in a reading list.

Publishing and updating your list

If your list is up to date click on the title to open the reading list and select the Confirm and Publish List button. This will send the list to Library Services and we will check that we have the items and make the list available for viewing in your VLE. 

Unpublished lists will have a status of Draft and can only be viewed by you.

If you make any changes to your list once it has been published remember to click the Update Published List button.

Lists should be published at least 6 weeks before the start of term.

Adding items to your list

There are various ways to add items to your list. For details of all the options available see the Leganto handbook for staff (pdf) or the Leganto handbook for Business School Administrators (pdf).

From Leganto

  • Click on the Add items + button on the right to open the Search panel and select Library Search
  • Use the search options to find relevant items from the Library’s collection of books and articles. Using the Advanced Search option allows you search for title, author or ISBN
  • Select the item you want to add from the results list, choose a Section from the drop-down menu if desired, and click Add
  • Continue to add items as required or click the X at the top of the Search box to close it
  • The selected item/s will now appear in your reading list
  • Change the designation of the item to Core (essential), Supplementary (students encouraged to use) or Background Reading by clicking on Select Reading Level

From Library Search

  • Sign in to Library Search
  • Search for the item you want to add
  • Click on the item title to open the Details page
  • In the Send to section click on Reading List
  • Make sure the List option is selected and choose your list from the drop-down options
  • Select a section to add the item to if desired and click on Add to Reading List
  • Open your list in Leganto to view the added item
  • Change the designation of the item to Core (essential), Supplementary (students encouraged to use) or Background Reading by clicking on Select reading level

Adding a reading level designation

Change the designation of the item to Core, Supplementary or Background Reading by clicking Select reading level. The library will buy multiple copies of an item designated as Core reading and may also buy an e-book if one is available.

Usually only one copy will be purchased of items designated as supplementary reading. The library does not buy copies of items designated as background reading.

Please note that Library Services cannot process your list unless each item has a reading level designation.

How to get material digitised for your students

How to get material digitised for your students:

Where possible, the library will seek to provide electronic access to book chapters in a reading list where details of a book chapter or page range are added to a reading list using the Book Chapter item type as described below.

To enter details of a book chapter to your list:

  • Click the Add Items button to open the navigation panel and select Create Item
  • From the Type drop down menu select Book Chapter
  • In the Chapter Title field enter the chapter number in brackets, followed by the name of the chapter. Enter the name of the chapter author in the Chapter Author field. Enter the book title, book author, edition and chapter number in the appropriate fields. Finally, enter the start and end page of the chapter
  • Click Add to insert the book chapter details into the appropriate section of your reading list

Alternatively contact your Subject Librarian with the list details and the chapter required.

The Library may purchase an e-book if appropriate in order to provide electronic access. Alternatively, it will use the College’s CLA HE Licence to make digital chapters from books held in the Library and the British Library.

You should be aware that not all readings can be supplied electronically because of licence restrictions and other factors.

Should there be a problem, you will be contacted by a member of library staff.

See Copyright frequently asked questions for more information.

Adding reading list links to a VLE

When your reading list is ready to be made available to students it will need to be added to the course area in the VLE.

It is important that your reading list has been associated with the right course.

 Making reading lists available in Blackboard Learn

By default a link to your published reading list will appear in the left hand navigation pane in Blackboard Learn. You can add additional links to the reading list in the Content Pane if required.

  • In Leganto make sure that your list has a status of Published. See Publishing your list section for more information.
  • Log into Blackboard and navigate to the required module
  • Ensure that Edit mode is turned on
  • Navigate to the area in the module where you wish to make the reading list available
  • Select Tools/More Tools from the edit menu
  • Select Reading List
  • In the Link Information page you can edit the name of the list if desired. Note this will be the name displayed in Blackboard.
  • Enter further information in the Text box if desired
  • All other fields have been automatically configured- please do not change these 
  • Click Submit

Please note that if your module shares a Blackboard area with other modules you will need to use a shareable link to direct students to a specific module list.

Creating reading list shareable links

Shareable links are direct hyperlinks to your reading list, list section, or individual items that can be added to areas such as module guides, or VLE pages.

To create a shareable link:

  • Open the reading list you wish to create a link for
  • Click the three dots (…) next to the list name to open the menu and select Create a Shareable Link
  • Click Copy to Clipboard
  • Paste the Shareable link into your module guide or VLE page

 To create a shareable link from a section or item click the three dots (…) next to the section name or item and follow the instructions above.

I need help

If you need help with Leganto Reading Lists please ASK the Library.

Including the module name and code in your message will make it quicker for us to locate your list and fix the problem.

Frequently asked questions

When should I publish my list?

Please publish your list at least 6 weeks before teaching starts on your module. This allows Library Services time to check and source the material your students need. If you publish your list later than this, some reading list items may not be available to students at the start of teaching.

I need to create a reading list for my module, how do I do this?

Contact your Subject Librarian with the module details and Library Services can help you build your list.

My colleague has sent me a link to a list which does not work, what should I do?

If a list is in Draft it can only be viewed by the list owners. Your colleague can add you as an owner. If the list is Published and checked by Library Services you can find it using Search Lists

How do I make changes to a list I have already published?

Edit the list and click on Update Published List. This makes your changes public and alerts Library Services to new or edited items.

Reading List public access takedown policy

Imperial aims to deliver teaching materials to students in a secure and copyright safe way. While the bibliographic details of items on our reading lists are publicly visible, full-text content is generally only available to Imperial staff and students in line with College licences.

To request the removal of a reading list from public view in Leganto for list owners

If you are a list owner, send the following information to library@imperial.ac.uk

  • Your name
  • Module code and name
  • List name (if different from module name)
  • Reason for requesting withdrawal of your list from public view

On receipt of a removal request:

  1. The Library will acknowledge the request within 5 working days of receipt.
  2. The Library will remove the reading list from public view immediately and will communicate with the list owner regarding visibility of the list to students e.g. via Blackboard.

To request the removal of reading list material from public view in Leganto for copyright owners

Imperial aims to deliver teaching materials to students in a secure and copyright safe way. While the bibliographic details of items on our reading lists are publicly visible, full-text content is generally only available to Imperial staff and students in line with College licences.

If you, as a copyright holder, believe that your rights have been infringed by Imperial accidentally making your work free to read via our reading lists please email library@imperial.ac.uk

By supplying the following information, you will help us respond to your request as quickly as possible:

  • Your name
  • Organisation (if applicable)
  • Email address
  • Reason for requesting withdrawal
  • Proof of ownership
  • Publication details:

- Title of the publication
- Module code and name
- List name (if different from module name)

On receipt of a removal request:

  1. The Library will acknowledge the request within 5 working days of receipt
  2. The Library will withdraw the material from the reading list immediately and subsequently review the request. An initial assessment of the request will be made within 10 working days of receipt.
  3. If the request is considered legitimate the material will be withdrawn permanently from public view. The requester will receive an email giving details of the action taken.
  4. In the event when the request is not considered legitimate, the Library will reinstate the material in the reading list.
  5. The outcome of the review will be communicated to both the requester and list owner

Leganto Reading Lists for students

Student guide to Reading Lists

What Leganto does

Leganto Reading Lists link you through to your reading list items whether they are books in the library, e-books, journal articles or websites.

You can also use My Collection to build up a library of items.

How to access Leganto Reading Lists

If your tutor is using Leganto you can view your reading list for 2020-2021 onwards by searching Find Lists.

Reading lists for the Business School and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are not currently available via Find Lists.

Leganto reading lists are also available via your department's VLE, such as Blackboard or the Business School Hub.

Reading lists which include copyright restricted citations cannot be viewed via Search Reading Lists and must be accessed via your department’s VLE.

How to build My Collection

Your collection can be a starting point to gather together material you may wish to read.

Adding items to your Collection using Library Search

  • Click on the menu button in the top left of the screen and select Collection
  • Click on the Add items button on the right-hand side and select Library Search
  • Use the search options to find relevant items from the Library's collection of books and articles. Using the Advanced Search option allows you search for title, author or ISBN
  • Select the item required and click on the Add button

Adding items to your Collection manually

  • Click on the menu button in the top left of the screen and select Collection
  • Click on the Add button on the right-hand side
  • Click on the Create Item tab
  • Select the appropriate Type for your item from the pull-down menu
  • Fill in all relevant fields, using the More item details option as required
  • Note that any URL should be added to the Source field
  • Click Save
  • Drag and drop or click in the upload box to add files to your item

Adding tags to items in your Collection

Organise and filter your collection by adding your own tags to the items.

  • Choose an item and click on Add Tags to Collection
  • Type in your tag(s)
  • Click on the Save button
  • Go to the Filter list option on the top left hand side of the screen (denoted by a funnel)
  • Click on the tag you wish to filter your collection by

I’m getting an error message when I click on the link

Leganto requires your browser settings to accept third-party cookies. If the browser is not set up to accept these cookies, then a white screen with an 'Illegal institution' message appears.

This setting is in different places in different web browsers but will generally appear under Options / Settings > Privacy. Set Accept third-party cookies to Always.

I need help

If you need help with Leganto Reading Lists please ASK the Library.

Including the name of the course in your message will make it quicker for us to locate your list and fix the problem.