Ange Fitzpatrick: beauty_school_dropout: Thing Two- RSS Q&A

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Thing Two- RSS Q&A

Try as I might, I'm struggling to make this as fascinating as my normal output. So here we go with some Q& A, a couple of sets of slides which you can watch for extra credit and an unexpected bonus for fans of sleek design: something beautiful and new!

What is RSS?

Simply, it's web content in a special form, which is 'read' by a reader.

How do I get it?

You're going to need two things, something to read and something to read it on. The good news is that there's plenty to read, most newspapers, blogs and even LOLcats are available in RSS format. Now all you have to do it pick a reader. Some browsers, Firefox included, can understand RSS, but most people chose to access it through a web-based reader, a downloaded reader or via their email client. Web-based readers, Google Reader, for example, can be thought of as your inbox on the web. On the left you can see my a LOLcat RSS feed displayed on Google Reader.

Why do I want it?

In libraries we are in the interesting position of being information producers as well as consumers, so it's not just about keeping yourself up to date! A common library application for RSS is keeping readers informed about new acquisitions in a given subject area, this means they can browse print and digital titles they may be interested in without specifically searching the catalogue- good example of some of the subject detail on offer here at the Cincinnati Public Library. In our role as information producers we can 'curate' RSS content from multiple sources and present it for our readers. The science@cambridge gateway (below) aggregates news, blogs and library generated content for science students at the University.

science@cambridge

This specially constructed page makes use of University branding and allows users to quickly access other University resources, but this can be done more informally. Good examples include LK's excelled Cam23 bloglist and the Philosophy feeds provided by the Casimir Lewy Library, both using netvibes.

In short, RSS feeds for libraries are like having a constant newsletter that can be discretely tailored to your readers' interests.

Can it do anything slightly more exciting?

No, well maybe. New from Google Labs is Google Reader Play which uses the same software as the 'Recommended' function in the standard reader. It visually displays web content you might be interested in based on feeds you currently subscribe to, you can then further refine it by hitting the smiley faced button. I've only been playing with it for the last 4 minutes, but it is quite fun!