RSS: Its Use in Libraries

[Note: This is a very well-designed course. I am looking forward to the complementary plenary session at MLA '08!]

RSS--Use in Libraries: RSS feeds are an excellent way to deliver news to all patrons (about items that affect everyone), and targeted news items to selected patron groups. Although setting up an RSS feed is very easy, it does not seem that way at first. So librarians should also continue to educate patrons about the benefits and ease of use of RSS. Also, it's always good to remember that we are likely to know more about time-saving tools than many patrons; sometimes we'll need to step back and take it slow.

RSS--Use by Patrons: RSS can be an amazing time-saver for patrons struggling to keep up with the relevant literature in their subject area. Once librarians show patrons the benefits of PubMed search and TOC RSS feeds, patrons will be so excited that they should immediately set up 100 feeds. (Or, perhaps, continue to use MyNCBI's email alert feature--we should extol the benefits of new technologies, but not overdo it if something else is working sufficiently.)