Many thanks to all who replied to my questions on processing reading
lists.  As promised here is a summary of the findings.  There is data from
12 libraries.

1.What proportion of reading lists produced by your institution in an
academic year do you estimate your library receives?
%  Number of replies
5/10%          1
20%   1
25%   1
50%   3
60%   1
80%   1
90%   2
100%          2

2.What would you estimate to be the average number of items included on a
reading list for core/essential reading?
This varied from 3 to 20 in the replies.

3.Do you state a maximum number of  items for core/essential reading on
reading lists submitted to your library?
Yes  4
No  7

Three replies gave a figure for core reading. These were: 3, 5 and 20 items.

4.If  you do state a maximum number of items, what proportion of lists do
you estimate adhere to this limit?
Two libraries were able to provide figures for the number of lists that
adhere to their limit, one 50% the other 65%.

5.Do you produce a template for academic staff to use when submitting
reading lists to the library?
Yes  5
No  7

6.If you do produce a template for reading lists, what proportion of lists
submitted to your library do you estimate adhere to this template?
Two libraries were able to provide an estimate, one of 60% and the other 80%

7.Do you apply a formula for the number of copies of a book on a list to be
held in stock per number of students on the course?
(If so, please give details.)
Within any institution this can vary according to subject and the number of
students on a course.
For core texts the ratios for copies to students reported were:
1:8
1:10
1:12
1:15

In 2 libraries that used a formula there was a maximum number of 20 copies
for any one course.

8.Which department and grade of staff process reading lists?
Ten libraries specified a department:
Taught Course Support/Teaching Services         2
Bibliographic Services    1
Resources/Acquisitions    2
Subject Liaison/Support    5

9.Do the staff who process reading lists also do the ordering?
Yes  4
No  7

10.Do you actively search for reading lists on your institution’s intranet
or actively pursue reading lists that the library has not received?
Yes   9
Yes for some         2
No   1

11.Do you use an online reading/resource list management system, e.g.
TalisList or ReadingListDirect?
LORLS          1  (Loughborough Open Source Reading/Resource List
Management System)
TalisList 7
None  4

12.Any other comments on managing reading lists:
These mainly concerned the use of reading list management systems:
One library noted that the reading list management system had improved the
number of lists received  and communication with academic staff..
Two noted that while the reading list system had improved the service it
was time consuming to administer.
One library was saving time on inputting reading lists by not adding
articles or web links.
Four libraries commented on the fact that reading lists are often available
on the VLE or Department web pages as Word documents or PDFs as well as on
the Reading List System, and one was consequently reducing the amount of
detail entered on the Reading List System, using it as a finding tool for
the catalogue.

Concerning the perennial problem of getting hold of reading lists, one
library that received 100% of basic reading lists reported that it had
gained senior management assistance at their Learning and Teaching
Committee to set targets for percentages of reading lists to be sent in by
each Faculty. Other libraries that received a high proportion of lists also
had a high level of involvement with the academic committees that were
responsible for the approval and production of module/course lists.

Thank you all for your help and the usefulness of your replies.

Adrian