Key Takeaways on Rethinking Student Engagement with Reading Lists

Ken Chad, founder of HELibTech and director of Ken Chad Consulting Ltd, joined Technology from Sage’s Georgia Hajipieris, Product Manager, Talis and Matthew Weldon, Library Patron Consultant in conversation for a recent webinar: Rethinking Student Engagement with Library Resources: Collaboration, Annotation, and the Librarian’s Role.

We examined how educators can bring reading, annotation, and collaboration directly into course reading lists and showcased Talis Engage, the new feature within Talis Aspire and Talis CourseFlow.

The panel discussed perspectives on increasing collaboration in the classroom, sparking discussions and techniques to ensure reading lists go one step further with engagement.

Catch up on the webinar.

Read on for the key insights from the discussion:

1. Reading Lists Are Becoming Pedagogical Infrastructure

Reading list systems have grown from administrative tools into integral components of the learning experience. As Ken Chad noted, reading lists—especially in the UK—are now ubiquitous and increasingly embedded in institutional strategies around digital transformation. Unlike older models based on “course reserves,” modern reading list platforms allow librarians and faculty to curate, prioritize, and contextualize resources in ways that scaffold student learning.

“I now see reading lists as a really strategic solution that helps bridge the gap between librarians and academics and in a wider sense by blurring the boundaries between what we thought of as library technology and educational technology. And in fact, I think that’s really important.

[Reading lists] add also significant value to the role of librarians and can help raise their profile in the university as a whole, and not least in those terms of the digital transformation agenda I just mentioned. Reading lists clearly showed their value during Covid by helping students to get easy access to critical online resources for their courses.

Now we’re seeing a new phase of solution to solutions to enable students to better engage, collaborate, annotate reading lists resources.”

Ken Chad, founder of HELibTech and director of Ken Chad Consulting Ltd

For librarians, this shift opens up opportunities to engage more deeply with academics and to shape the way students interact with course materials. As Ken puts it, reading lists help blur the boundary between library technology and educational technology—making librarians critical partners in pedagogy.

2. Social Annotation Encourages Deeper, Collaborative Learning

Georgia and Matthew from Technology from Sage introduced Talis Engage, a new feature within Talis Aspire and Talis CourseFlow, that adds collaborative reading and social annotation tools directly into the reading list environment. Students can now highlight, comment, and discuss readings in real time—either publicly or anonymously—within the same platform they already use to access course materials.

Read more about Talis Engage in this blog post.

The Talis Engage feature enables faculty to upload lecture slides and additional learning materials into their lists.

This approach supports flipped classroom models, where students engage with materials in advance of class sessions. The panel emphasized how these tools mirror the kind of active learning and peer-to-peer interaction that drives deeper comprehension—especially in online and hybrid environments.

Notably, these features are customizable. Faculty can upload various file types (PDFs, images, lecture notes, even audio) and set permissions around commenting and downloading. For librarians, this means more centralized content management and better support for copyright compliance through integrations.

“Talis Engage will help drive engagement by having the ability to transform that reading list into more of a teaching and learning tool as well with an interactive space, enabling collaboration. Students and faculty can annotate materials together. It’s not just one person doing something on their own and then having the opportunity to come together. They’re doing that at the same time in real time and simplifies access.”

Georgia Hajipieris, Product Manager, Talis, Technology from Sage

3. Librarians Are Expanding Their Role in Teaching and Learning

The evolution of reading list systems reflects a broader trend: librarians are increasingly central to teaching and learning strategy. Matthew highlighted findings from the Librarian Futures series of reports, which shows that while librarians’ skills and services are deeply valued, they’re not always fully recognized or utilized—especially in institutional conversations around digital transformation.

“In our most recent report on the library and AI, we talk about how librarians with the full range of skills that are available to them really are kind of the natural people within the institution to pick up and lead on AI. That doesn’t necessarily mean buying AI, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the library suddenly has to find lots of money to pay for AI, but leading in that sense of here’s how you engage with it responsibly, here’s what you have to watch out for, here’s how to use it effectively if you are going to use it.”

Matthew Weldon, Library Patron Consultant, Technology from Sage

This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As digital platforms become more embedded in the curriculum, librarians can assert their expertise in areas like instructional design, open access, digital literacy, and now, social learning. The key is visibility. As Matthew noted, “librarians are trusted, but not always approached.” Academic libraries that proactively market their value—to students, to faculty, and to senior leadership—will be better positioned to lead in this space.

4. Student-Centered Tools Drive Equity and Engagement

One consistent thread across the webinar was a focus on student-centered learning. Whether it’s making resources easier to access through the VLE, enabling quiet students to comment anonymously, or helping students annotate primary sources directly, the goal is the same: to meet learners where they are.

Talis Engage allows students to keep personal notes alongside public discussion threads, helping them revisit and reflect on material throughout the semester. This kind of integrated engagement encourages not just comprehension, but ownership of the learning process.

Final Thoughts

For academic librarians, reading lists are no longer just about making resources available—they’re about making learning happen. With new tools for collaboration, annotation, and seamless integration, tools such as Talis Engage are turning reading lists into dynamic hubs for engagement.

By embracing this shift, and by advocating for their evolving role in pedagogy, librarians can ensure they remain at the heart of higher education’s digital transformation.

Talis Engage Is Available Now

Talis Engage is available on request now for all institutions subscribed to Talis Aspire or Talis CourseFlow. Customers can contact support to enable Talis Engage for their institution. 

Get A Demo

Is your institution looking to boost library impact and enhance the student learning experience? Request a demo to see how the new Talis Engage feature works in Talis Aspire and Talis CourseFlow. If you’re not sure which solution is best for you, get in touch and we can guide you