How do I create a Reading List?

Step 1: Open your course site in Canvas

Click Reading Lists in the menu on the left.

 

screenshot of canvas menu containing the options: My Media, Course Evaluations, Reading Lists and Settings with a yellow arrow pointing at Reading Lists

 

Note: If you do not see Reading Lists in your menu, you will need to add it. To add the reading list tool to a Canvas course:

  1. Click Settings - this displays the Canvas course site settings page
  2. Click the Navigation tab
  3. Go to Hidden Tools at the bottom of the screen and drag the Reading List tool to the Active Tools
  4. Go down to the bottom and click Save. This will add the Reading Lists tool to your course site

Step 2: Create your list (or reuse a previous list)

Library staff may have created a list for you if you already requested to place materials on reserve for the course. If so, the list will open, and you can make additions and edits if you wish.

If your course does not yet have a list, you’ll see two options:

  • Create a new list from scratch 
    • Continue below to create a new list from scratch
  • Create list from an existing list. 
    • If you’d like to copy and update an existing list from a previous semester, which we recommend if you have one, see instructions for how to reuse a previous semester's list. 
      • If you want to reuse a list, please do so from the beginning, rather than creating a new list from scratch and then going back to try to reuse a previous one
      • You must be the owner/creator of the previous course to use this feature

Select “Create a new list from scratch.” 

Your course name will appear as the list name, and your course will appear under the “Link to course” heading. If you wish, you can rename the list or enter a description for your students to see.

 

Screenshot of two buttons used to select the type of reading list you want to create. The left is to create a new list from scratch and the right is to create a new list by copying an existing list.

 

Click Next.

 

Screenshot of the available fields automatically created when creating a reading list with a green next in the upper righthand corner. The available fields for edit include list name, list descriptino and link to course.

 

Step 3: Organize your list - optional

The next screen gives you options for organizing your list by creating sections.

The “Organize list by” menu offers two options, Default or Weeks.

  • Default creates one section called Resources.
  • Weeks creates a separate section for each week of the semester. Enter the number of weeks in the “Default Number of Sections” field.

To learn more about Sections, visit How do I structure the list by weeks or topics?

Step 4: Add items

You’re now ready to add library items to the reading list.