Group Presentation: RSS
Heather Bennett, Kelly Farrah, Karen Kueneman, Colleen Lipp
LIS 757: Social Software & Libraries
RSS is a format used to publish information updates from websites, blogs and other online sources, alerting users when new content is added. RSS is most often used for sites that are frequently updated and have content that can be easily divided into dated pieces. It can be used, for example, by news sites to publish summaries of their latest news stories, or by blogs to publish their latest posting. Anyone who is interested in getting the latest information from these sites can subscribe to an RSS “feed” for the website.
The term “RSS,” encompasses various versions of the format. It stands for Rich Site Syndication, RDF Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication, depending on the version, and whose definition you are reading (see All about RSS). Web 2.0 tip: you are not likely to impress anyone at a party by bragging about your knowledge of “Really Simple Syndication.” Nowadays, “RSS” is used more as a term on its own than as an acronym.
How RSS Works
RSS brings fresh content to you in three basic ways – it either directs content to an online program, to a program on your desktop, or to your email (but who wants more email?). The ‘program’ mentioned in the first two ways is known as either a news aggregator or a news reader.
RSS is a dialect of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) developed by the W3C. It is similar to HTML but differs in that it is designed to allow developers to customise their own tags. Just as your browser window translates the HTML code of the webpages you are viewing, XML code is read, interpreted and translated by your news aggregator/reader into the format you view on your PC. One set of XML code from any one source is called an RSS feed, RSS channel, XML feed, RDF feed, Atom feed, or simply a feed; but all are essentially the same thing. They most often come with an .xml, .rss or .rdf extension. Read more on XML specifications.
These are a few of the icons that can indicate the presence of RSS feeds:
In order to alert you of new items on your favorite sites, RSS XML code is comprised of a list of items, all containing a few key elements including a title, a content summary and a link to the entire content. Fagan has drafted a simple visual aid demonstrating how the XML code is translated by the news aggregator/reader into these elements.
To syndicate (publish content through an RSS feed) your website’s content you can either familiarize yourself with XML coding, or you can allow an open source program such as Feed2JS or FeedBurner to do it for you!
RSS Aggregators
There are a number of RSS aggregators available. The choice of aggregator depends on individual needs. Decisions may depend on how many computers one uses, how many feeds are being read, and individual preferences for reading the feeds. Aggregators can be accessed via a variety of platforms: the web, a personal computer (using different operating systems), a blackberry, email, a cell phone, and so on. There are several lists of aggregators available on the web. A comprehensive listing of feed readers for a variety of platforms is available at RSS Compendium.
Basic platforms include:
- Web-based. These websites collect RSS feeds online and can be accessed from any Internet-connected computer. For example Bloglines is a free online RSS reader that allows easy access to selected RSS feeds. In addition, check out Google Reader, My Yahoo , Squeet, and Newsgator.
- Standalone. These include software packages that access selected RSS feeds and download the results to your computer. Examples include SharpReader , Snarfer, RSS Bandit, FeedDemon
- Plugins. These are programs that have been integrated into software packages installed on your desktop (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, and Mozilla Firefox).
Subscribing to Feeds:
- You can easily subscribe to feeds by looking at the listing of most popular or suggested subscriptions built into many aggregators. Just click on the subscribe link under or beside the feed description.
- When visiting websites you may see text that indicates RSS links such as “XML”, “RSS”, “Atom”, “Syndication” or one of the symbols shown above. If one of these is available, click on it so that you can manually add the feed address by copying and pasting the address of the feed (the URL found in the address bar of your web browser) into the reader.
- Lists of news, blog and podcast feeds can also be found on a number of websites including Feedster, a large archive of indexed feeds on the web. Radio Userland also has a list of most subscribed to RSS feeds.
- If you are searching for a specific feed, you might try using Syndic8.
RSS and Online Searches
Google (using GoogleAlert), Google News, and Yahoo News have made it possible to track searches with RSS feeds. Simply perform your search, clarify that you are getting the results that you want, look for the RSS feed on the results page and save it to your aggregator. The aggregator will alert you when new articles or websites are found.
Examples of How Libraries are Using RSS
There are a great number of ways in which libraries can adopt this new technology. Here are just a few examples of some libraries which have already taken advantage of this growing trend.
Some of us may have already made use of the RSS feeds offered through Western Libraries. These provide news specific to each campus library. Like UWO, McMaster’s RSS feeds provide news from a variety of library locations but also highlight new additions to the collection and upcoming instructional sessions. Users can choose to receive all new postings or may limit their selections to specific areas of interest.
The University of British Columbia’s library website provides users with information regarding the use of RSS feeds in research. When accessing any number of online databases, users can save a search and receive results via RSS feed. Users can also initiate feeds of any new library materials relevant to their area of interest. Unfortunately, this information is only accessible to those with a valid UBC library account.
Of course academic libraries are not the only organizations making the most of these tools. Recently, the Cambridge Public Library was awarded the Ontario Library and Information Technology Association’s (OLITA) Award for Technological Innovation for their early adoption of RSS technology. CPL provides library patrons with quick and easy access to the newest available library offerings. Whether they are interested in the hottest new romance titles or newly available DVDs or CDs, library users can add the provided feed URL to their aggregator. Mozilla Firefox users need simply click on the icon displayed in the address bar.
The Seattle Public Library provides registered library users with access to three types of RSS feeds. Shortly before items become due, feed subscribers receive a list of outstanding items. Should they wish to renew these items, links to the catalogue are also provided. Users are also able to register for a RSS feed which provides notification of available library requests. Thirdly, catalogue users can construct custom feeds, designed to provide notification whenever a new item is added to any specified area of interest throughout the collection. These RSS services are incorporated directly into the library’s catalogue and are only available to registered library members.
What the Future Holds for RSS in Libraries
There is much potential for the use of RSS in libraries. In fact, there is an entire blog dedicated to innovative ways that libraries can use this tool. Two areas, which are particularly promising for RSS in libraries are providing patrons with updates of library activities and current awareness.
As seen in the above examples, libraries can also use RSS to provide patrons with feeds on library news, information on their library accounts, new items added to the catalogue, or programs and events happening at the library.
Using RSS provides librarians with easier access to the most current information on various topics. To keep up to date in their field, and to provide patrons with the latest information librarians can subscribe to RSS feeds for journals, blogs, newspapers, government information, etc. Using RSS for current awareness can be particularly useful for librarians working in medical, science and technology, and corporate settings where information changes quickly, and there is a high demand for what is most recent.
In general, using RSS can help librarians organize and use the mass of information that is published electronically each day.
Questions
If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and we will respond.
References (not linked in text)
- RSS, Wikipedia Article
- What is RSS, XML.com
- RSS Tutorial for Content Publishers and Web Managers, Mark Nottingham
- RSS for Rookies, Scott Hendison
- RSS for Dummies, Sharon Housley
- Copyright, Fair Use & RSS, Tech Law Advisor
- Creative Commons – Text, Licensing RSS Feeds
- RSS Trends for Health Librarians, Eugene Barksy
- Richardson, W. (2006) Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Super!
Thank you!
In regards to Seattle Public Library’s use of RSS you write: “catalogue users can construct custom feeds, designed to provide notification whenever a new item is added to any specified area of interest throughout the collection.”
Such RSS usage would also be ideal in an academic library. It is my understanding that librarians responsible for collection development often pass articles along to faculty members who may find such articles useful for their research. An RSS feed would not only help collection development librarians identify and manage the endless glut of research-relevant articles, but it would also help faculty members keep abreast of such articles themselves.
[…] I am one of the lucky four who collaborated on this week’s group presentation on RSS. Please leave us some comments! […]
Heather, Kelly, Karen, & Colleen–Excellent work!
Mark also makes an excellent point. RSS is being incorporated into ILS (See: The Shifted Librarian). This is very exciting because it provides selective dissemination of information (SDI) in a format a growing number of users, especially younger [i.e. college students], are using. Also of particular note for transforming the ILS is Ex Libris’ Primo (an add on to its Aleph ILS). Primo allows users to tag, rate, and review within the catalog.
Great job on your presentation! I didn’t know that Western had RSS feeds so have signed up for a few. In a library setting, what do you think is the best way for staff to handle RSS responsibilities? Ex. Does one person organize all of them? Is it by subject area/department? (I’m thinking in some ways managing feeds would be a lot like dividing or merging collection development responsibilities)
Great Job!
I know from my own experiences in a corporate library that being able to deliver news in real-time to clients was an invaluable service (it is so much easier to set up a feed then to have the same client come to you day after day with the same request just in case something new happened). It also goes a long way to helping your library services appear to be proactive.
[…] One of the main problem for librarians is likely the difficulty in measuring/ tracking the number of people who have subscribed to the feed, thus making it difficult to provide outcome numbers and justification for services. In addition content publishers such as librarians need to contend with the issue of “what version of RSS” do I use to provide the feed. Which version works best for my needs / requirements and the needs/requirements of my customers? Also, there was a great question by Susan left on the comment section of our RSS Presentation. I’m not sure there is one answer Susan’s questions, “Does one person organize all of them Is it by subject area/department? (I’m thinking in some ways managing feeds would be a lot like dividing or merging collection development responsibilities)”. The answer, as in most things, is likely, ‘it depends’ - on the library (how big it is, etc), on the staff (their responsibilities, their abilities to handle the technology) and so on. […]
Your explanation of RSS and how it works was clearer than some of the articles that we read in this week’s readings! Thanks for the great explanation and for the ideas of RSS use in libraries.
Great job!
Your group provides comprehensive information on RSS. I would like to say the review of the use of RSS in libraries is impressive. RSS can be used for delivering library news, “new additions to the collection and upcoming instructional sessions”, assisting researchers to get their results when searching databases, or informing them of “any new library materials relevant to their area of interest”.
RSS is a good way for libraries to organize the above and more potential information to meet the information needs of patrons. I think that the organization of information and the understanding of user need are fairly important when libraries make use of RSS to inform patrons of the news or information services in their libraries.