RSS
• Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary
• RSS is an xml-based format which allows web publishers to
create and disseminate feeds of data, based on the content of
their website.
• RSS enables you to subscribe to a website using a tool
called a news reader or aggregator
• RSS feeds contain article headlines, links and descriptions.
The feeds are updated as the website is updated.
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

RSS - Benefits
• An easy way to receive automatic updates from your chosen
websites and blogs. Instead of going to a website, the
website will send you a message every time there is
something new.
• Notification of new content 'on your desktop' as it happens –
automatic updates.
• Lets you create content in one place and display it in other
places.
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

Why bother with feeds?
• Labour-saving, Time-saving, Convenience.
• You want to stay current.
• You want to be notified of updates from the many web sites that
you read without visiting them one by one
• You prefer to read your favourite websites from one convenient
location without any interface clutter
• No need to trawl (favourite) websites for new content / news
items.
• Librarians who strive to keep current with the latest news and
trends in the field have started using feeds and readers to save
time and organize materials.

Checking your favourite websites… …Library Journals Online
Ariadne
Library H-Tech
Collection Building
D-Lib Magazine
Library Review
Emerald Insight
Library Journal
New Library World
Library Management
Program
Internet Research
Reference Services Review
www.xxxxxxx.com

PLUS… …Online Book Reviews
Ariadne
Library H-Tech
Collection Building
D-Lib Magazine
NYT Book Review Library Review
Emerald Insight
Library Journal
New Library World
Library Management
Guardian Unlimited Books
Program
Internet Research
Telegraph Arts | Books
Reference Services Review
www.xxxxxxx.com

PLUS… …Online Newspapers
Ariadne
Ireland.com
Library H-Tech
Collection Building
D-Lib Magazine
NYT Book Review Library Review
Emerald Insight
Belfast Telegraph
Irish Examiner Library Journal
New Library World
Library Management
Guardian Unlimited Books
Washington Post
Program
Internet Research
Telegraph Arts | Books
RTE News
Reference Services Review
www.xxxxxxx.com

PLUS… …Entertainment
Ariadne
Ireland.com
Library H-Tech
Collection Building
Rolling Stone Album Reviews
D-Lib Magazine
NYT Book Review Library Review
Emerald Insight
Belfast Telegraph
Irish Examiner Library Journal
RTE Entertainment
New Library World
Library Management
Guardian Unlimited Books
Washington Post BBC Music – Latest Releases
Program
Internet Research
Telegraph Arts | Books
RTE News
Reference Services Review
www.xxxxxxx.com

PLUS… …Library Weblogs
Ariadne Ireland.com
The Dewey Blog
Thoughts from a Library Administrator
Library H-Tech
Collection Building
Rolling Stone Album Reviews
D-Lib Magazine
NYT Book Review Library Review
The Shifted Librarian RFID in Libraries
Emerald Insight
Belfast Telegraph
Irish Examiner Library Journal
RTE Entertainment
New Library World
Library Management The Laughing Librarian Tame the Web
Guardian Unlimited Books
Washington Post
BBC Music – Latest Releases
Program
Internet Research
Telegraph Arts | Books
Library Stuff
RTE News
Reference Services Review
www.xxxxxxx.com

This is where RSS comes in!
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

Step-By-Step
• Step 1: Use a News Aggregator
A newsreader" or "aggregator" will fetch and organize
recent content and provide simple ways to read it.
• Step 2: Grab the feeds
• Step 3: View the content
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

Readers
• RSS reader = news reader = RSS aggregator = a program
that can read RSS files
• Standalone applications that run in the background on
your desktop, automatically updating headlines regularly:-
e.g FeedReader – FREE
• Web-based RSS aggregation system:- e.g Bloglines.com -
a web-based service means your favorite feeds will
remain available when you change computers
• Browsers with RSS capability:- Firefox 1.5, Opera, IE 7.0
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

The icons to watch for…
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

Bloglines
Web-based Reader
http://www.bloglines.com/

Login

FeedReader
Desktop Reader

Right-click…
Subscribing to a feed

…and paste!

Browsers with RSS capability Firefox Browser

Firefox Browser

Firefox Browser

IE 7.0

IE 7

IE 7

IE 7

http://www.bloglines.com/public/dubcilib

Useful Resources
• RSS For Non-Techie Librarians -
http://www.llrx.com/features/rssforlibrarians.htm
• Rich Site Services: Web Feeds for Extended Information and Library Services -
http://www.llrx.com/features/richsite.htm
• All about RSS - http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml
• LISFeeds.com - a web-based aggregator that scrapes feeds from librarian-
oriented sites from around the world. A good place to find library-oriented feeds
and a way to read a lot of sites in one place.
• Bloglines.com is a free online service that helps you subscribe to and manage
lots of web information, such as news feeds, weblogs and audio. Bloglines tracks
the information you're interested in, retrieves new stuff as it happens, and
organizes everything for you on your own personal web news page.
• NewsIsFree - an online news reader, RSS Directory and news search engine. -
http://www.newsisfree.com
• Technorati – Blog search engine - http://www.technorati.com/
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie

DCPL Library Matters
http://www.bloglines.com/public/dubcilib
Don’t forget to bookmark and put shorcut on your menubar!

RSS is colourful!
Administrative Headquarters, Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 , Ireland
www.dublincitypubliclibraries.ie