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Week 4
I knew this day would come, I've been fighting it for a long time but I suppose it was inevitable. I'm looking into RSS feeds. I'm not sure why exactly I have been against RSS for so long... I suppose it has something to do with not really understanding what they were. The other technologies in the course I was at least familiar with and could justify why I more often than not chose not to use them. RSS I had no such justification. I just didn't like it, didn't understand it and wanted nothing to do with it. After reading the articles I'll admit I'm kind of warming up to the idea. Although I'm still a little bit suspect as I do quite enjoy searching out my information manually.
The Robin Good article in particular really pointed out the pros and cons of RSS in a simple and straightforward way, and I'll admit that I'm liking what I'm seeing in terms of my early experiments using RSS feeds. I have even decided that this technology would be terribly useful in my old library to update the new acquisitions lists, something that would take an afternoon to do using our outdated print methods. An rss equivelant would quickly save time and paper.
Overall then I think RSS is a very interesting and useful technology, although again just to make sure I sound enough like a broken record I want to point out that it's only useful in a library to the extent that it is being used properly. If your site never changes I don't think seeing up an RSS feed would be terribly productive.
Grant
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Kansas City Public Library
This site was kind of how I've always thought a public library website should work. It contained a wealth of information organized in an efficient way. The information was not only library related, it also incorporated community information and other timely subjects. I was somewhat surprised that war and terrorism was one of the most popular guides that it wouldn't just fall into the rubicon of our world... I suppose this speaks to the reality of living in the States.
Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive (using Pageflakes as a portal)
I found how busy this site was really took away from it's overall effectiveness. At the same time the information it did contain was very interesting. I really liked the link to lectures on the front page. The links listed on the page were a pretty impressive collection of Web 2.0 utilities. In fact I was hard pressed to think of a popular utility they weren't using.
Hennepin County Library - Subscribe to our RSS Feeds
Even though this site wasn't pretty I quite liked it. It was effective and straightforward covering a lot of information organized effectively. I was impressed with the number of feeds they linked to from other libraries. They get a solid b+.
NHMCCD - RSS feeds
This I had never seen before, journal links, very useful for professionals and those in various practices. What a convenient way to stay current through technology. I like it a lot !
Tacoma Public Library - RSS/XML Feeds
This application was closer to what I had envisioned in libraries. Granted all the applications I have been seeing has really opened my eyes to just how powerful this tool can be. Overall for a public library I think this is a pretty good tool. In my library rather then all titles added in the last two days, we would have done a weekly version. Same idea though. Very handy site overall for knowing your collection.
University of Oklahoma Libraries RSS feeds
Another good site combining their collection with an RSS feeds. Seemed to be more about the overall collection rather than just the popular materials. Very handy if you don't just want to know when new popular materials are arriving.
Western Kentucky University Libraries
I liked the Quilts image...apart from that I didn't really like much about this site. I guess in this case it came down to looks. I didn't care for how the site looked and this affected how I interacted with it.
Your comments about being hesitant to use RSS really resonate with me. That is EXACTLY how I felt about them before this class. It seemed like some kind of unecessary frill accessory and I knew that I could get around the web just fine without them.
BUT, like yourself, having to learn about them during this class made the concept a lot more understandable and I too have warmed up to RSS.
Hi Grant - this week I too found myself asking why I hadn't used RSS before, moreso than for the other software we've looked at. I am now actively looking for feeds to fill my every need, but I might try checking out other aggregators to see what my layout options are - so far I've only tried google reader.
Oh - and I agree on RSS being useful for new acquisitions - much easier than print, also easier then highlighting them on your homepage or burying them in a newsletter - even if it is a savvy blog-style newsletter.