Reading lists

Reading lists contain details of books, chapters, journal articles and other materials that your tutor would like you to consult. Lists can be provided by your course convenor or college tutor as a printout or electronically via email, Canvas or ORLO.

Oxford Reading Lists Online (ORLO)

ORLO is the online reading list system for students at the University of Oxford. With ORLO, you can access up-to-date reading lists at any time from a range of devices. You can check the live library availability of print items on the list by clicking on the item's title, as well as access many ebooks and online articles through the ‘View Online’ button. These ORLO features will help save you time during your studies.

Search for your reading list from the ORLO homepage or access ORLO lists via your course's Canvas site. If your course is not on ORLO, please speak to your subject librarian or email orlo@bodleian.ox.ac.uk so that staff can look into this.

Top tips for using ORLO

Please watch the top tips video and read the guidance below for advice on how to get the most out of ORLO.

https://ox.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=1f3f1f90-832a-4321-adc3-abb2009b01a6&autoplay=false&offerviewer=true&showtitle=true&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all

Download, export and print your ORLO list

Select the ‘View & Export’ button at the top right of an ORLO list to download it. Here you can download a PDF which retains the links to the ORLO items. You can also export it as a RIS file, which can be used to import the citations into reference managers.

Add your own notes and reading intentions

You can set private reading intentions to plan your studying and mark your progress. Click on the circle to the far right of an item and choose from five intentions. To add a private comment about an item, click the three-dot menu button and select 'Personal note'.

In a rush? Use filters to search through your lists

Use the drop-down filter options at the top of the ORLO list to target essential or recommended readings, physical or online resources, and quickly jump to a section heading. You can also type keywords into the search bar to find a specific title.

Save lists to your profile

Use the ‘+MyLists’ button at the top right of an ORLO list to save it to your profile. Saved lists will always be available to you under the My Lists tab, even after it has been archived at the end of the academic year.

Report broken links

Staff work hard to ensure that the ‘View Online’ button links are kept up to date. Sometimes, however, these links may not load correctly. If you encounter this issue, please make sure you are still logged into ORLO with your SSO. You can also reset your internet browser: visit this IT Services guide for details of how to clear your cache and cookies.

If the ‘View Online’ button is still not working, click the three dots on the far right of the reading list item and select ‘Report broken link’. Please provide your University email address so that staff can notify you as soon as the link has been fixed.

View other formats/editions

Click on the title of a book to look at its details, including library availability. Here you can also search for alternative editions in SOLO by clicking ‘View other formats/editions’ link.

 

Department, faculty and college ORLO lists are created and managed by administrators, academics and University staff. In order to receive list publisher permissions, you will need to attend an ORLO list creation iSkills training session or have read through the self-help information provided. The slides and materials for the iSkills training sessions can be downloaded from our staff ORLO LibGuide.

To receive a template ORLO reading list (e.g. skeleton list with an appropriate title, digitisation code and section headings), or get technical support on creating reading lists, please email orlo@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.