Getting Started on Talis Aspire
These guides will take you through setting up your profile, finding or creating a reading list, adding the bookmarking extension tool to your browser, and several different features you can use to format your list.
The first time you log in to Talis Aspire a profile will automatically be created for you.
To setup your profile:
- Go to readinglists.warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window and log in using your usual Warwick username and password.
- Your profile will be automatically created by Talis. You will now have editing rights for your module reading lists.
- Please check that your details are accurate by clicking on your name, and then clicking View Profile.
- Where it asks to describe your job role, please ensure that you choose the most relevant category from the drop-down menu (academic, researcher, librarian, etc). It is important that you set this correctly because if it has defaulted to one of the student roles, this will affect you ability to action certain functions within Talis Aspire.
If the module has run before, even with a different convenor, it is possible that a draft version already exists in Talis, having rolled over from the previous cycle. It is worth looking for any existing draft lists first before creating a new blank list, as this may save you some time populating or updating the list.
Finding an existing list:
- Log in to readinglists.warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window and search for your module list. This is usually easiest to do by module code (e.g. EC123), but you can also search by module title or the name of the owner currently assigned to the list (which may or may not be you if the list has changed hands since the previous cycle).
Be sure to log in to your profile first before searching for your reading list. Draft lists are hidden from public view, so if you do not login first, you might have trouble finding all of your lists if you have not yet published them.
- You can also click Browse hierarchy underneath the search field to see the list of modules for a specific department. If you cannot find your module, please contact the Reading List Team at readinglists.library@warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window.
- Once you have located the list, click on the desired title for the relevant academic year to view the list.
- Click the +My Lists button on the top right of the screen. This will save the list to your My Lists section on your profile, for quick and convenient access in the future.
- If you are not listed as the list owner on the reading list, please contact the Reading List Team at readinglists.library@warwick.ac.uk Link opens in a new windowwho can assign the list to you.
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Indicate the relevant Term(s) in the title of your list, as well as if the module is Distance Learning (DL), takes place Overseas (OS) or at the Warwick Venice Centre (VE). This helps the Library plan to acquire any new resources in time.
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Update the student number on your lists. These roll over from the previous cycle and help inform acquisitions decisions. To amend this, press the large Edit button at the top right of the list, then select Hierarchy and student numbers from the resulting drop-down menu.
If you do not yet have a list set up and are unable to find one in Talis, you can either get in touch with the reading list team at who will set you up with a blank list, or you can create one yourself.
Creating a new draft reading list on Talis Aspire:
- To create a new draft list, click the My lists tab, and select create new list.
- You will need to enter a title including the module code and select the appropriate academic year.
- You can also select the hierarchy (module code) if it has already been set up. The Library team will also check this once the list is published and add any codes for new modules to Talis before assigning them to your lists.
- You may also wish to add a ‘description’, which is visible to all users when published to provide context to a reading list.
- The 'internal note' field can be used to give additional information to the reading list team, and cannot be seen by students.
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Indicate the relevant Term(s) in the title of your list, as well as if the module is Distance Learning (DL), takes place Overseas (OS) or at the Warwick Venice Centre (VE).This helps the Library plan to acquire any new resources in time.
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Update the student number on your lists. These roll over from the previous cycle and help inform acquisitions decisions. To amend this, press the large Edit button at the top right of the list, then select Hierarchy and student numbers from the resulting drop-down menu.
In order to populate your reading lists with resources, you will need to install the bookmarking extension tool on any browsers you plan to use. The bookmarking extension is currently supported by Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. This will allow you to collect and save any bookmarked resources within your 'My Bookmarks' area, e.g. books, eBooks, articles, website, etc.
Top Tip: By linking to Library catalogue resources properly via Talis Aspire, usage stats for these resources will be accurately collected, unlike with homemade scans uploaded to Sitebuilder, Moodle or MyWBS. Even uploading a PDF downloaded from one of the Library's official supplier platforms only registers the initial download as "use" and not every instance of students reading the uploaded PDF. Accurate usage stats are very important because they help inform and justify resource retentions or cancellations, so the Library can ensure that our collection matches your needs.
To install the bookmarking tool:
- Log in to Talis at readinglists.warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window. If it’s your first time logging in, simply press Log In and it will create an account for you as long as you are signed in on the browser with your Warwick credentials (as explained in the previous section).
- Go to the My Bookmarks section (along the top, third option from the left after Home and My Lists).
- Press the large Install Bookmarking Extension button (at the top of the page, far right after the Add and Action buttons).
- A box will pop up on screen. Press the link for the browser of your choice to proceed.
- This will take you to the webstore of your chosen browser, or, by default, to the Chrome webstore.
- Download the extension.
- If you pin the extension button to your browser task bar, it will reside inoffensively as a small aquamarine circle containing the letter "t", just to the right of the URL field, always at the ready.
Please note: The very first time you use the button after installing, you will be prompted in a new browser tab to select your institution. Once you have done so from the drop-down menu and saved this info, it will confirm that your selection has saved and you can then close that browser tab before returning to your original one.
Talis allows you to split your list into sections. This is especially useful if it is a long list or you wish to organise the readings by week, topic, or importance. Using sections also creates a table of contents that can be used to navigate the list easily. We recommend adding sections before you start populating your list, particularly if you have an elaborate structure in mind.
- To add a section to your empty list, click the Add Section button at the right side of the page.
- Fill in the title and description fields provided (as needed), before pressing Save.
- To add the next section to your list, hover your cursor below the first section. This will prompt the Action Bar to appear, offering 3 options: add resource, add paragraph, and add section. Click Add Section.
- If you wish to add a section within a section, click the Add Section button at the right side of the section (if empty) or hover your cursor on the bottom line of your existing section (if not empty) until the Action Bar appears with the usual 3 options. Select Add Section and fill in the relevant details as before.
- This should now look something the image below this with the new subsection nested nicely within the original section. The brackets at the far left are helpful for visualizing where the different components sit in relation to each other on the list. The table of contents tab at the top of the list will also reflect the structure created.
- If you wish to edit the section title or description, press the vertical ellipsis (three dots) at the far right of the section, then select Edit from the resulting menu. You can also cut/paste, drag/drop, or move up or down the section, from the same menu.
You can nest sections within others as many layers deep as needed to structure your list. For example, you may choose to break down your list by week and then have sub-sections for core and further readings, different resource types, or different topics, etc. (See our suggested templates for inspiration in the next section.)
Please note: the Action Bar also conveniently lets you know where on the list you are about to add an item with a teal flag at the far left of the bar indicating the section name.
The below templates represent the most widely used formats for structuring reading lists. Please note that these are all draft lists, so you will need to be logged into your Talis profile first in order to view the templates.
Please do not edit these templates. If you would like to use one as a basis for your own list, simply press the large Edit button at the top right and then Copy List. This will allow you to create a new draft list of your own which will be a copy of your chosen template. Please email Link opens in a new window if you need any help with this!
A template to copy for structuring your reading list by week.
A template to copy for structuring your reading list by topic.
A template to copy for structuring your reading list by reading importance.
A template to copy for structuring your reading list by resource type.
Talis allows you to add paragraphs, essentially blocks of text, to your list. These can be used to add context to the readings, for example adding questions for your students to think about while doing the reading.
While paragraphs are primarily used for plain text, users are now able to insert clickable URLs into their text (emails and web addresses). Once the paragraph is saved, those URLs will automatically convert to links that a user can click.
- To add a paragraph on your reading list, either press the Add Paragraph button (to an empty section or list) or hover your cursor between existing items where you would like to add the text so that the Action Bar appears, before pressing Add Paragraph.
- Add your text, change the font preferences as needed, then click Save.
- If you wish to edit the paragraph text, press the vertical ellipsis (three dots) at the far right of the section, then select Edit from the resulting menu. You can also cut/paste, drag/drop, or move up or down the section, from the same menu.
Please note: Individual paragraphs cannot exceed 2000 characters. A message will appear just under the text box indicating if you have surpassed this. To work around this, simply split your text into smaller chunks and input as separate paragraphs.
Talis makes it easy to move resources, paragraphs and sections around on your list at any time through a variety of different actions.
It is worth noting that there is no undo option in Talis. If you've accidentally moved an item to the wrong spot on the list, the only way to undo this is to move it back using the options below. If you get into a mess moving components, the Reading List Team is on hand to help! Please email for support.
Drag and Drop
Drag and drop can be used to move a single resource or paragraph. This is best used when you don't want to move an item very far on the list. If you have a very long list and want to move an item a significant way up or down the list, we recommend using the cut and paste option instead.
- Click and drag the double arrow icon which can be found to the right of any item, just before the vertical ellipses (three dots).
- You can then drop the item in the new desired location on the list, within a section, or between sections.
Please note: drag and drop cannot be used for a whole section (there will be no double arrow option to click). To move an entire section on a list, we recommend using cut and paste or move up/move down instead.
Cut and Paste
Cut and paste can be used to move resources, paragraphs or sections. This is the best option if you'd like to move an item a significant distance up or down the list, particularly if your list is very long and contains many items.
- Click the ellipsis next to the item you'd like to move, then select Cut from the resulting drop-down menu. The item you have cut becomes greyed out, and the Action Bar’s normal options are replaced with Paste and Cancel.
- To paste the item, navigate to where you would like to place it, make sure the Action Bar is located where you would like the item to be on the list, and click Paste.
- Alternately, you can click the ellipsis on any item in the list, and select Paste below from the resulting menu to insert your selection immediately below the item you have clicked on.
Please note: the 'cut and paste' function can only be used to move a resource, paragraph or section within the same list, and cannot be used to cut something from one list and paste it into another. If this is something you are trying to do, please contact the reading list team at Link opens in a new window who can support you in finding the most efficient solution.
Move Up / Move Down
Move Up and Move Down can be used to move resources, paragraphs or sections. This feature moves a component up or down one horizontal slot (row) on the list, indiscriminate of the presence of sections. This means that moving a resource or paragraph up or down one place may insert it into a section, or move the item out of a section.
- Click the ellipsis next to the item you'd like to move, then select "Move up" or "Move down" from the resulting drop-down menu.
- The item will automatically move up or down a slot on the list.
Please note: If you want to move an item above or below an entire section (i.e. outside of the section), you should use either use the 'drag and drop' or 'cut and paste' methods, otherwise using 'move up/move down' may insert the item into the section. This is particularly relevant if you use subsections within your main sections.
Please keep in mind that moving an entire section on your list will also conveniently move any components contained within the section as well.
To delete a component from your reading list, simply click the ellipsis to the far right of the resource, paragraph or section you would like to remove and select Delete from the bottom of the menu.
Be sure you click on the correct ellipsis to launch the menu for the specific component (or section of items) to be deleted. For example in the image below, you'd click ellipsis 1 to delete the entire Week 1 : What is a penguin? section, ellipsis 2 to delete the subsection of Essential readings, or ellipsis 3 to delete only the bookmark for Penguin Book of Penguins.
It is worth noting that there is no undo option when editing your reading list in Talis. Talis conveniently auto-saves your work so you can close your browser and come back to your list to make further edits without publishing and making the updates visible to your students yet if you're not ready.
Unfortunately this also means that if you delete a component or section of components from your list, this action cannot be undone. If you find yourself in this position, you can either re-add the components to your list or get in touch with who may be able to retrieve the contents from an archived version of the list from a past cycle.