The Delaware Library Catalog
RSS and News Feeds.
DLC Support
What's an RSS Feed?If you are already familiar with what an RSS feed is- return to the home page and sign up! If you want to know more, read on... RSS and feeds: the paperboys of the internet.If the internet is a worldwide collection of local newspapers, RSS and feeds are the trusty carriers who drive by your house at 4 a.m. and deliver the newspapers you have subscribed to. They don't throw it into the pond by accident, and you don't have to walk down your driveway in bare feet holding your housecoat together to pick it up. RSS stands for 'really simple syndication', but frankly, knowing what the acronym stands for is almost completely irrelevant.More and more often when browsing the web, you will see buttons like these:      Clicking on one of these is the online equivalent of mailing in your subscription card. When you click on one of these buttons, and follow the instructions, you will begin to receive the website's new content shortly after it is updated. This means that instead of having to remember to check back on interesting websites, or to go through your bookmarks on a regular basis, you are making the website itself do all the work. The new content can be sent to variety of sources, e-mail, your internet browser, an online subscription aggregator, or a Google or Yahoo online homepage. What can it do for me?We have established a number of RSS feeds for a number of the webpages we use to announce and promote important information concerning the catalog and email system, meetings and events at the Delaware Division of Libraries, and other noteworthy news. Your subscribing to these will automate the process of notifying you about committee meetings and agendas, training sessions, Workflows bugs and fixes, and other issues that have a direct bearing on your work and priorities.Look for the RSS logos on the following pages: State.lib.de.us Consortium.lib.de.us SystemThis.blogspot.com The following feeds function as useful hotlinks that libraries could place on their homepages: Delaware catalog new items Delaware catalog new books Delaware catalog new audio books Delaware catalog new DVD How do I subscribe, and where do I read the news feeds?Both the main Consortium and SystemThis page have the easiest RSS interface of all. Simply enter your email address in the box in the side of the page above the RSS logos seen above, and hit 'subscribe'. Enter the verification code provided in the next window. You will get a confirmation email to respond to, and you're set. You'll get the new content in your email soon after it hits the website.If you use the Firefox browser, you get more choices with your RSS feeds. You can opt to have them sent directly to your iGoogle or My.Yahoo home page. Using the XML and other icon to subscribe is marginally more complicated. Clicking on one of these icons will bring up a page providing subscription options in your internet browser. Choose the "subscribe" option and new items will be sent to your favorites/bookmarks option (the 'favorites center' in Internet Explorer 7). They will appear under the 'Feeds' icon. Other good and useful RSS feedsYou can even get up-to-the-minute news and announcements from the Library of Congress through its' RSS feed pageCustomized RSS feeds in PubMed are available. Patrons can receive notification of new publications in specific areas of interest. The RSS feed is designed around patron-selected search terms. (Useful feeds will be added as I come across them or as you recommend them to me.) |
|