List8D: open source reading list system
List8D is part of the Information Environment Programme funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The overall aim of this project is to implement an open source reading list system that is accessible and easy to use for three main user groups - library staff, academics and students. The system will play a central role in helping Library Services provision resources, and will also provide data feeds to other university systems such as module catalogues, faculty handbooks, the student data system and Moodle, the University's virtual learning environment.
List8D came about as a result of the developer decathlon at the JISC Developer Day in February 2009. Knowing that reading list management is an issue across the sector, over the course of two days the team from Kent built a quick prototype of a user-friendly web 2.0 reading list management system. While it was extremely simplistic and wasn’t a full working system it not only struck a chord with those who saw it but resulted in the team winning the developer decathlon competition and deciding to take the project further with this bid.
Development work commenced in September 2009, and will continue during 2010 to support implementation at the start of the academic year 2010/2011. List8D is being developed to be a useful and sustainable resource for the JISC Information Environment community.
Technical goals
- Deliver portable data with the ability to exchange information to and from external systems and sources.
- Support open content and open standards.
- Provide a solution that is reusable, by any institution, with a well-documented API.
- Support for reference management software such as Refworks, Endnote, and Zotero.
- Internationalisation support.
Business and user-oriented goals
- Help library staff manage stock levels to ensure relevant and timely provision of resources.
- Be easy for academic staff to use.
- Be easy for students to use, with information accessible in a variety of places.
- Provide accurate information for librarians and library managers.
- Promote agile development practices within the University of Kent.
Project documents
Documents are PDF format and require Acrobat Reader to view them.
Project links
Contact details for the project
Project Director
John Sotillo
Director of Information Services
Templeman Library
University of Kent
Canterbury
Kent CT2 7NU
Telephone: 01227 823635
Email: J.Sotillo@kent.ac.uk