KeyLinks announced as new supplier of reading list management system for Anglia Ruskin University

Following a series of major platform developments, KeyLinks – the dynamic reading list management system (RLMS) by Kortext – has entered into a new partnership with global institution, Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), one of the top 350 universities in the world.

KeyLinks was selected as the solution that aligned with ARU’s commitment to providing high-quality, sustainable digital infrastructure and driving effective and efficient processes. KeyLinks will support the university’s librarians and academics as they prepare their programme reading lists for the upcoming academic year by giving the institution the means to create flexible reading lists and manage them in one place, putting the library at the centre of teaching learning.

This news comes after two years of substantial investment in the platform, informed by KeyLinks customers and led by a team of qualified librarians. With experience in the library sector spanning two decades, Scott Gibbens, Head of KeyLinks, has extensive knowledge developed over time with institutions such as Edge Hill Library, Teesside University Library and Jisc. Scott is supported by Pete Bowles Barrett, Customer Experience Manager, who has dedicated his career to information management, boasting over 10 years of library experience at the University of Bristol.

Scott commented:

“We’re delighted to have partnered with Anglia Ruskin University to provide a reading list management solution that will benefit their library, faculty and students. As a librarian myself, I understand the important work library staff do to ensure their students are guided to the right resources at the right time, and with KeyLinks we’re committed to making this process as easy as possible for our customers.

“This is an exciting moment for us. With a host of new features and enhancements, KeyLinks offers incredible value for money. We’ve invested considerable time and effort into building a robust platform that improves workflows, saves our customers time and money and is developed based on their wants and needs. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team at ARU to introduce KeyLinks to their institution and build a lasting relationship.”

KeyLinks’ new enhanced offering focuses on system integrations, ease of use and library acquisitions, ensuring that institutions like ARU receive a first-class, cohesive experience when using the system.

By integrating with ARU’s virtual learning environment, Canvas, librarians, academic and students can access readings lists easily through their existing system. KeyLinks also offers further integrations with library management systems and discovery solutions – a major requirement for ARU – as well as eBook aggregator platforms like Kortext, and Open Access solutions that provide academics with Open Access content to incorporate into their reading lists and that their students can study for free.

KeyLinks has also made significant improvements to its service by introducing an automated report that checks for broken links and enabling librarians and academics to import citations from reference management tools into their reading lists.

Birgit Fraser, Assistant Director: Academic and Content Services at Anglia Ruskin University, commented:

“ARU has had a reading list management solution in place for several years, which is firmly embedded in the learning and teaching taking place at ARU in conjunction with the supporting content delivery processes.

“Working with KeyLinks will enable us to build on what we have achieved so far in further streamlining processes whilst achieving better return on investment. We are looking forward to working with KeyLinks on delivering our vision of a more innovative, efficient and user-friendly way of managing our resource lists.”