RSS? What's that?

This is a weird one. I've been using RSS feeds for a while, now. I was originally turned on to Bloglines by a co-worker, who said it would be a much easier and more productive way of keeping up with my favorite webcomics, like Penny Arcade. Later, that same co-worker mentioned the Google Reader. Already having a gmail account, it was a natural migration for me. Later, I added news, literary, and yes, even library-related feeds.

Personally, all these feeds started out as fun, but now it's turned into an after-school special. At first, Google would only go up to 100. In other words, if you had unread feeds totalling 100 or 500 or whatever, it would just read "100+". Now it goes up to 1000. So it reads "1000+" most of the time. This can be very disheartening. I find I have feeds for things I don't read often enough, very often, or at all. I know, I've been bad. The reader made it too easy to sign up for new things, and made it impractical to follow any webcomics without RSS. Webcomics, remember, were how I got into this, and still comprise the bulk of my subscriptions. It's alright, though. It does mean I don't have to check Order of the Stick every stinking day because they don't keep a regular schedule. Also, I avoid that sinking feeling when William Gibson hasn't posted today.


How can libraries use this? The same way anyone can. By having feeds the public can access, we can easily spread information about programs, policies, and personnel. Imagine an online version of the Library Update, with all the same information, but updated weekly, or monthly, rather than bi-monthly. Customers could subscribe to the feed, and get regular transfusions of library program information, either for their favorite branch, or the entire system. Throw in some links for online registration and you've actually got something worth having.

VBPL Talks is far more effective than the old system of one person emailing questions and answers to the entire staff. The comments alone have allowed a conversation to develop between the LCDT team and the staff about a given topic, one that is accessible to the rest of the department. This can lead to more a more open workplace environment, with staffers able to say anonymously what they might never vocalize in response to a given departmental policy clarification.

RSS has certainly changed the way many people access content. I know people who won't even subscribe to a feed if each post isn't fully displayed in their reader. This was the fate of the Freakonomics blog after it switched to the NY Times website. I stopped reading because it was no longer about economics. Plenty of webcomics and most newspapers don't show full posts in Google Reader, so I'm used to it.

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