RSS Challenge

When it came to the RSS challenge, I was a complete techo dinosaur! But I learned a few things, and am pleased with the results. Why didn't I do this sooner-well because I had no idea what to do with those little orange squares-thanks Oclwebthings committee!

So to answer the questions posed by oclwebthings:

What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your work or personal life?How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

I like how easy it was to find and subscribe to bloglines and the various newsfeeds that I choose. First, Bloglines had a top fifty list for the day which included two librarian sites (were our people working on this today...I wonder) and some of my favorite news guys and magazines. So I picked those-about 16. Then I subscribed to the Asbury Park Press, the OCLWebthings Blog Feed and the Berkeley Branch calendar of events-all very easy once I knew how to handle it.

I can use this technology to keep up with current events that are important to me, and to my customers (book reviews, latest postings by LII, news that people are looking for information about). I can now help people who want to set up their own bloglines account.

Our library is already using RSS for our programs. Other uses could be for "Automatically Yours" lists, new videos, changes in library services and public policies.

Photo credit: I'm not sure which staff member at the Berkeley Branch took this photo of our local dinosaur.