Using RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools to keep current
The Authors
Cuiying Mu, Commerce Information Librarian at Central Library, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. (cuiying.mu@canterbury.ac.nz)
Abstract
Purpose – With really simple syndication (RSS), library users can have information delivered to them automatically, instead of spending large amount of time searching databases, web sites and blogs for new literature in their subject fields. The availability of social bookmarking tools gives researchers new ways to discover, share and store information for their research. This paper aims to provide information on how academic librarians can use RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools as mechanisms of current awareness and resource discovery.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on the ways of keeping current using RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools.
Findings – RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools help manage information and save time as well as increase access to new information.
Originality/value – The paper showcases how academic librarians at the University of Canterbury Library teach students to stay current by using RSS feeds and social bookmarking for current awareness and resource discovery.
Article Type:
Case study
Keyword(s):
Information retrieval; Information media; Library users.
Journal:
Library Hi Tech News
Volume:
25
Number:
9
Year:
2008
pp:
10-11
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
0741-9058
Introduction
In today's information-rich society, students are facing vast and ever-growing quantities of information as well as fast changing information technology. The advent of new technologies such as real simple syndication (RSS) and social bookmarking tools have enhanced traditional email alerting service and provide dynamic tools for students to keep abreast of new literature and developments in their subject fields. Academic libraries, while facing the radical changes that technology brings to information delivery, are also embracing the potential of these tools to extend and improve library services. Academic librarians are teaching their students to use technologies to keep current not only with new literature in their subject fields but also library services such as new tutorials, postings in college blogs, listings of new book titles, library events and information on new electronic resources and database trials.
RSS feeds and Bloglines
RSS push technology is an efficient way to track what is new from selected websites, blogs, databases and news services. With RSS alerts, you need only access your newsreader rather than visiting each site individually. The newsreader pulls together new information from all your feeds in one handy place, saving your email box from being flooded with alerts.
A number of modern browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 can be used to set up and read RSS feeds. In addition, there are a several good newsfeed readers/aggregators such as My Yahoo and Google Reader. After experiments and discussions with research students and academics in my current awareness tutorials, all believe that Bloglines is the best feed reader compared with others.
Bloglines is a web-based news aggregator for browsing weblogs and other news feeds via syndicated feeds from RSS and Atom[1]. Bloglines includes features and options for e-mailing posts, feed organization, new item notification and built-in blogging. According to Sauers (2006) and various other Bloglines users[2], the obvious advantages of Bloglines are:
- Users do not require installation of additional software in their computers.
- Users can add and access their feeds from any computer at home or work.
- Users can categorize their feeds and put them into subject folders. In addition, users can also mark feed posts as “new” for future reading.
- Bloglines' search for feeds capability is quite useful. If someone posts something in a blog and then removes it, it will still show up in Bloglines feeds search.
- Bloglines only displays the first several lines of a post, facilitating browsing through several entries.
Bloglines and RSS feeds in library databases
Our Library subscribe to many databases, that make RSS feeds available. Because access to these databases is by subscription only, we provide a means of easy authentication using software called ezproxy[3]. This software, used by libraries all over the world, authenticates the user and then acts as an intermediary through the interaction with the database. The database receives all requests from the ezproxy IP address, which it recognizes as a valid user.
When ezproxy takes over the interaction, it adds its domain name to the URL of the resource it is interacting with, and this domain name is also added to subsequent links. This means that the link returned to the user to create the RSS feed includes the ezproxy domain name. It is this expanded URL that will be put into Bloglines record.
When the user tries to create the record for the new RSS feed in Bloglines, it says it cannot find a valid RSS feed. This is because of the ezproxy part of the URL. To subscribe to RSS feeds created in Library databases, users must remove the ezproxy part of the URL. For example, when a user searches a topic in ScienceDirect, the database will create a feed URL, which looks like the following:
http://rss.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy. canterbury.ac.nz/getMessage?registration Id=ACECADECBIEDICFDCCEKAHE JADFGAFJHFUGKDCGGCM).
To subscribe to the feed, simply remove the ezproxy.canterbury.ac.nz part of the URL and then paste the rest of the URL to the blog or feed URL box in Bloglines.
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking technology allows users to store, organize and share their documents on various websites. Social bookmarking gives users the opportunity to express their own perspectives on information and resources through informal organizational structures. This process allows like-minded individuals to find one another and create new communities of users that continue to influence the ongoing evolution of folksonomies, collaborative creation of tags (subjects) for resources. Using a folksonomy-based tool for research lets one take advantage of the insights of other users to find information related to the topic one is researching, even in areas that are not obviously connected to the primary topic (Lornas, 2005). If one is looking for information about cancer treatment, for instance, you might find that other users saw a connection between cancer and emotion, taking you in new, potentially valuable directions. Furthermore, social bookmarking technology supports information literacy practices that encourage the social construction and sharing of knowledge (Keith, 2007). What is more, most of the social bookmarking sites such as Connotea (www.connotea.org), CiteULike (www. citeulike.org) and del.icio.us (http://delicious.com) provide RSS feeds easily that allow users to become aware of new titles as they are saved, shared, and tagged by other users. By subscribing to an RSS feed provided by the site, you can keep up to date with new information on a subject. The greatest advantages of social bookmarking tools are the ability to store references and share them within a community, access them anywhere and on any computer, and stay current by monitoring what is being added to the sites and what others are reading on a topic.
The popular social bookmarking tools for research students and academics are Connotea, CiteULike, del.icio.us and 2collab by Elsevier. Each of these tools function slightly differently. The 2collab social bookmarking tool is freely available in ScienceDirect enabling users to add their favourite articles from ScienceDirect to 2collab by clicking the “add to 2collab” button on the upper right of each article. 2 collab is not limited to ScienceDirect. Users can add the button to their browser toolbars and automatically add any webpage they are reading and then share their bookmarks with a wider community.
The other social bookmarking tools, CiteULike, Connotea and del.icio.us, enable users to tag references from websites and databases, and share the references with other users. Except for 2collab, users are able to search these sites and create an RSS feed on a topic. For example, when searching a topic such as 3D reconstruction in CiteULike, you will not only find users and groups interested in 3D reconstruction, but also a list of articles discussing 3D reconstruction. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on RSS to subscribe to the feeds on the topic.
Conclusion
Librarians can integrate tools such as newsreaders and social bookmarking sites into instruction, recognizing that technology concepts and skills are critical to educating information literate students – a role that has always been the purview of the librarian (Warnken, 2004). Teaching students how to utilize these tools to manage their information and become aware of new information, will not only save them time and energy, it will also increase their access to the knowledge they need.
Notes
- Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloglines
- Available at: http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2006/06/what-are-advantages-of-services-like.html
- Available at: www.oclc.org/us/en/ezproxy/about/default.htm
References
Keith, M. (2007), "New online technologies for new literacy instruction", Teacher Librarian, Vol. 34 No.3, pp.69-71.
Lornas, C.P. (2005), "7 things you should know about social bookmarking", available at: www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf (accessed 18 January 2008), .
Sauers, M.P. (2006), Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Guide, Information Today Inc., Medford, NJ, .
Warnken, P. (2004), "The impact of technology on information literacy education in libraries", The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 30 No.2, pp.151-6.