PRE-WORKSHOP
Really Simple Syndication (RSS): A Means to Information
Publication and Collection
Bradley Schaefer
Spencer Eccles Health Sciences Library,
ABSTRACT:
A common problem with
developing online resources is user retention; getting a user to visit your
site once is easy, but because there are so many sources of information on the
Internet getting them to come back again and again can be a real problem. If
you have found yourself asking the question "How can I keep users informed
about site updates?" or even "How can I find a simple way to generate
sustained interest in my online resources?", RSS
is the answer! RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a free XML standard through
which metadata (whether it be information about a site update, updates to an
online catalog, or any arbitrary information you can imagine) can be published
and available to users instantaneously.
For example, on the
HEAL site we frequently add collections which we wish to announce to people. To
do this we maintain a mailing list, which we have to update before every
announcement. This means adding new email addresses, removing faulty addresses,
and eliminating duplicates. With RSS we could take email out of the equation and eliminate the need for any mailing list
maintenance. Instead, users would subscribe to our RSS feed which would keep
them updated on our site's announcements. Users may choose what RSS feeds they
subscribe to, and so they are in control of the information they receive.
RSS is not just a
mailing list replacement, however. It can also be used as a means to collect
information from several different sources to be displayed in one place. An
example of this might be a health education site that displays syndicated news
from multiple medical information providers on a single page.
In this class
participants will learn:
·
What RSS is, and how
it can be used
·
How RSS works, the
underlying XML format of RSS feeds
·
How to publish an RSS
feed, and what that means - How to read or collect RSS feeds
·
Information about
available RSS tools
This class will
discuss the technical details of RSS, so being comfortable with "techie
talk" is important for the participant's understanding of all the
material. This class will NOT discuss implementation details specific to a
language (such as generating or collecting RSS feeds with PHP, JSP, ColdFusion,
etc), but will instead focus on more overall theory that can be applied to any
language.
BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
This class will benefit
those interested in learning what RSS is, how it works, and how they can use
it. They will learn how the RSS standard enables users to keep up to date on
the information and resources they are interested in. They will also understand
how to publish information in their very own RSS feed. A participant in this
class will also see a sample of the tools freely available for creating and
reading RSS feeds.
Bradley Schaefer
Spencer S Eccles
Health Sciences Library
10 N 1900 E, Building
589
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-5890
Phone: (801) 581-3494
Fax: (801) 581-3632
mailto:schaefer@lib.med.utah.edu