Belk Library and Information Commons

• see also RSS Feeds in the WNCLN Library Catalog

RSS (Real Simple Syndiation) is an XML-based format for sharing and distributing web content that a user "subscribes" to.

An RSS reader allows you to view information from multiple web sites in a single interface.

You can use RSS to keep up to date on news headlines, and RSS can also help keep up with research. You can:

• view table of contents from new journals issues
• discover new journal articles on a specific topic (from multiple journals)
• view news on general topics such as science, technology, business, health, etc. from Google, New York Times, BBC, etc.
• follow blog discussions on certain topics.

To use RSS:

• Create an RSS reader account -- for example, Google Reader or My Yahoo. Readers are also embedded in popular applications, like Microsoft Outlook, Firefox, and Internet Explorer 7.
• Go to your favorite websites and look for a button or the words RSS, XML or Subscribe to this Feed.

• Click the RSS link, copy and paste the URL (web address) into your RSS reader and click Add or Subscribe.
• The name of the site with the number of new items in parentheses should apprear in your reader.
• Check the reader for new content on your subscribed sites, and save, tag, share, or email items of note
• Some feeds to consider:
  Project Muse or Academic Search Complete (in EbscoHost- check the "help" pages - type in "Alerts" for more information or tutorials)