Building Inclusive Reading Lists

Auditing a reading lists involves collecting data on the listed sources to assess their characteristics, such as the diversity of authors in terms of gender and ethnicity, the geographical range of publishers, and format accessibility. Audits can be a useful starting point to help module leaders reflect on the diversity and accessibility of sources on their reading lists and can support the development of more inclusive library collections. 

To get a deeper understanding of what is involved in carrying out an audit of a reading list, read the article 'How diverse is your reading list? Exploring issues of representation and decolonisation in the UK', published in the journal Higher Education in 2020. This article reports on a study that developed and applied a method for auditing the authorship on reading lists of two modules, one from science and one from social science, in a research-intensive British university. 

Step 1: Access Online Reading List and Export It

• Login to the University's online Reading Lists system and search for your reading list by module title or module code. 
• Go to Reading list options menu (the three horizontal dots on the top right of the list) and select Export>To Excel to download a spreadsheet containing all citations on the list (this enables easier copying and pasting of citation information to the Diversity Audit Template mentioned in Step 2). 

Step 2: Complete Diversity Audit Template

• Download the Diversity Audit Template using the link below.
• Copy and paste as much information as required from the Excel spreadsheet containing your reading lists citations (downloaded in Step 1) to the Diversity Audit Template.
  • Diversity Audit Template. This spreadsheet template was created by the Library at Manchester Metropolitan University and made publicly available to support others to undertake diversity audits of their reading lists.

Step 3: Review Audit Results and Reflect

• Select the Data Visualisation tab of the Diversity Audit Template, click on graph, select PivotChart Analyse from the ribbon, and click on Refresh.

• Reflect on opportunities for diversifying the list in the dimensions of ethnicity, gender, geographic location, and format. ​

Building Inclusive Reading Lists Project

The Inclusive & Decolonised Curriculum in the Biological Sciences Project was funded by the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at Edinburgh Napier University in October 2021 for three years. The project is a collaboration between professional services and academics from Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Glasgow and students from the Biological Sciences undergraduate programme suite. One of the project aims was to support the development of a library guide that would support colleagues and students across Edinburgh Napier University with building inclusive reading lists. The guide was launched in March 2023 with a view to further development and refinement based on user feedback. As part of this work, an audit of a live module (BMS09100, Immunology) was completed early in 2022 to trial and inform process recommendations, create opportunities for reflection and to highlight opportunities for development of the reading list. It is hoped that this pilot could help support and promote similar action across the University. 

The module reading list was independently audited by the module leader and subject librarian. The reading list was analysed in terms of the perceived gender, ethnicity, and geographical/institutional affiliation of authors, plus the accessibility of sources in terms of format and access licence​, listed. It was followed by a period of reflection and a search for new sources to increase the diversity of authors and accessibility of sources and the process of development is ongoing.  

Module Leader reflections: 

This pilot made me explicitly acknowledge that the driver for inclusion of some of the items on the module reading list was multifaceted and related to the need for associated teaching resources, the desire to drive traffic to journals where access may otherwise be lost alongside supporting student learning.  I also acknowledged that the reading list sat adjunct to my module rather than occupying a central position to the module delivery. 

Personally, I am most comfortable discussing proteins and receptors and cell interactions and often didn’t think about the scientists behind the discoveries focussing in on the facts, functions and networks of interactions between many varied and for me an incredibly interesting collection of cells. This pilot and the wider project have really encouraged me to think beyond the content of books, journals and articles, to the people behind the research or the communications about research and it has increased my understanding of social justice issues related to my subject area. 

As a result of the audit, the reading list has developed and expanded and is a work in progress. It occupied a more prominent role in the module delivery 2022/23 and featured positively in the associated module evaluation feedback collected centrally from students on the module. I plan to do further work to develop the reading list and use this guide to support me in those efforts as I have more work to do. It is fair to say, the process and wider project, has had a big effect on me and on my learning and that has impacted my delivery of the module and the discussions and interactions I have had with my students. 

If you would like to learn more, ask a question or get involved in building an inclusive reading list for your module, I am very happy to help and/or be a point of contact to help you get started (Dr. Eva Malone; e.malone@napier.ac.uk).