Library Media Programs feature in a Web-Wise World visit This Just In on the Web Feeds for Enhanced Library Services KQWEB A full-text, hyperlinked Gerry McKiernan version of this article is available on the KQWeb at [email protected] www.ala.org/aasl/kqweb Here a blog, there a blog, everywhere tary, middle, and high schools have created blogs a blog. to promote local events and classroom activities. Students at the Randolph Elementary School in It seems that every journal, newspaper, maga- Arlington, Virginia, publish their poetry on a zine, and news Web site is highlighting weblogs. classroom blog. The Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, uses a 38 In the first half of 2004 alone, dozens of stories have appeared about blogs: Time invited read- blog format for its homepage to provide school ers to “Meet Joe Blog,” Library Journal profiled news and links to related information, and at the the free UThink blog service recently initiated by Hangleton Community Junior School in Hove, the University of Minnesota Library, and PC East Sussex, England <www.hangleton-jun. Magazine Online reviewed the audio blog brighton-hove.sch.uk/index.htm>, teachers and service from AudioBlog.1 The New York Times students have developed a variety of blogs. Will Knowledge Quest 33/Number 3 • January/February 2005 Volume reported on the proliferation of blog use by Richardson, supervisor of instructional technol- teenagers and blog addiction.2 Perhaps most ogy and communications at Hunterdon Central telling was the extensive coverage on the use of Regional High School (HCRHS) in Flemington, New Jersey, and self-described “blogvangelist,” Gerry McKiernan is a blogs by presidential candidates in, for exam- ple, National Journal. Equally striking is the provides a blog that offers not only regular news Science and Technology extensive use of blogs by the media themselves for Journalism 1 at HCRHS but also links to class Librarian and as an “emerging alternative” to reporting and a information and notes, journalism sites and Bibliographer at Iowa State “new source of news.” resources, and major media Web sites. University, Ames, with As defined by the Wikipedia, a weblog (or simply a blog) is “a website which contains Library Blogs specialization in selected periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts The use of blogs is not limited, however, to fields of engineering. He on a common Web page. The format of weblogs school news and class assignments. An increas- has also served as the varies, from simple bullet lists of hyperlinks, to ing number of libraries at educational institu- Museum Librarian of the article summaries with user-provided comments tions have created blogs to promote a wide and ratings. Individual weblog entries are range of services and collections. The HCRHS Carnegie Museum of almost always date and time-stamped, with the blog, for example, includes brief news items for Natural History in newest post at the top of the page.”3 recent and future library events as well as links Pittsburgh, Pa., and as an to research guides, recommended Web sites, School Blogs Assistant Librarian with and profiles of new books. In Illinois, the While politicians, reporters, and teenagers have Suburban Library System uses a blog format to the Library of the New York recognized blogs as an effective mechanism for provide news to its membership of several Botanical Garden in the disseminating personal, institutional, or organi- dozen academic, public, school, and special Bronx, New York. zational news, an increasing number of elemen- libraries.4 Library Media Programs in a Web-Wise World Blogging Software Web Feeds their availability within blogs, web feeds are To create blogs, individuals, organizations, and Many blogs offer “[t]he latest headlines, with offered as well by major state, regional, libraries use specialized software or blog hyperlinks and summaries . in the RSS XML- national, and international broadcast, print, and services, or they may design Web pages that format, to be read with a RSS feedreader.” Rich Web-based publications and services. Current have features and functionalities similar to Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication news sites that syndicate all or part of their those of a blog. Among the more common (RSS), is an XML format for the sharing of content include ABCNews.com, BBCNews.com, blogging tools or services are LiveJournal, content among different Web sites. Through an and MSNBCNews.com, as well as online ver- Manila, MoveableType, and TypePad. One of RSS web feed or other feed type, such as Atom, sions of the New York Times, the Wall Street the most common blogging tools is Blogger, a new and updated Web site content is sent auto- Journal, and the Washington Post. In addition, free or fee-based blogging service now owned matically to subscribed users, thus significantly search engines such as Yahoo!, e-commerce by Google. reducing the need to individually revisit sites of sites such as Amazon.com, auction sites such as interest for changes or additions. In addition to eBay, and presidential candidate blogs such as Blog Resources Knowledge Quest 33/Number 3 • January/February 2005 Volume Aggregators <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ Manila <http://manila.userland.com> Royal Holloway, University of London web tech/directory/5/aggregators> Meriwether Lewis Elementary School feed <http://library.rhul.ac.uk/ AmphetaDesk <http://lewiselementary.org> rss-feeds/recentlibraryserialissues.xml> <www.disobey.com/amphetadesk> Metropolitan Library System RSS definition <www.webopedia.com/ Atom <www.atomenabled.org> <www.mls.lib.il.us> TERM/R/RSS.html> 39 AudioBlog <www.audioblog.com> Minneapolis Public Library ‘The List’ web feed Safari RSS <www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/ Blogger <www.blogger.com> <www.mplib.org/listnew.rss> safari.html> Blogging software <http://radio.weblogs.com/ Moraine Valley, Illinois) Community College SharpReader <www.sharpreader.net> 0107846/stories/2002/10/03/ Library web feed <www2.sls.lib.il.us/ State of Hawaii, Legislative Reference Bureau blogSoftware.html> MVCC/searchtips/index.xml> web feeds <www.hawaii.gov/lrb/rss/ Bloglines <www.bloglines.com> Moveable Type <www.movabletype.org> art.xml>, <www.hawaii.gov/lrb/rss/ Chicago Multitype Library System National University of Ireland, Galway, Library req.xml>, <www.hawaii.gov/lrb/reports/ <www.chilibsys.org> web feed <http://rss.library.nuigalway.ie/ libdocs.html> Edmonton (Canada) Public Library web feed rdf/all-new-books.rdf> Suburban Library System <www.sls.lib.il.us> <www.winterstorm.ca/download/ NetNewsWire <http://ranchero.com/ TypePad <www.typepad.com> epl_video.rss> netnewswire> University of Alberta (Canada) library FeedDemon <www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon> News aggregator definition <http://davenet. <www.library.ualberta.ca/ FeedReader <www.feedreader.com> scripting.com/2002/10/08/ studenttraining> Hangleton Community Junior School whatIsANewsAggregator> University of Louisville Libraries web feeds <www.hangletonweblogs.org> NewsDesk <www.wildgrape.net> <www.library.louisville.edu/users/ Hong Kong University of Science and NewsIsFree <www.newsisfree.com> mopurc01/rss/index.asp> Technology Library web feeds <http:// NewsIsFree Top News <www.newsisfree.com/ University of Tennessee Libraries, Alpha lbxml.ust.hk/na/books.xml>, <http:// sources/bycat/1> Channel web feed <www.lib.utk.edu/mt/ lbxml.ust.hk/na/media.xml> Ohio University, Athens, library web feeds weblogs/studio/index.xml> Hunterdon Central Library blog, <http:// <www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/ University of Winnipeg Library and central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/imc> businessblog/wp-rss2.php>, Information Services web feed, <http:// Hunterdon Central Regional High School <www.library.ohiou.edu/refblog/ blog.uwinnipeg.ca/InfoResources/ <www.weblogg-ed.com>, <http:// wp-rss2.php> index.rdf> weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/journ1> OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center <http:// UThink <http://blog.lib.umn.edu> Library blogs <www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/ journals.ohiolink.edu/rsshelp.html> Weblog definition <http://en.wikipedia.org/ index.shtml?links.html>, Pluck <www.pluck.com> wiki/Weblog> <www.libdex.com/weblogs.html> Radio UserLand <http://radio.userland.com> Wikipedia <www.wikipedia.org> LiveJournal <www.livejournal.com> Randolph Elementary School Will Richardson Lunar and Planetary Institute library <www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/ <www.weblogg-ed.com/about> <www.lpi.usra.edu/library/new.xml> randolph/weblogs> Library Media Programs in a Web-Wise World John Kerry for President <www.johnkerry.com> many libraries with blogs. The HCRHS central for its library and instruction program page, also offer web feeds. The availability of a web library not only offers offer a web feed for while the University of Tennessee (UT) libraries feed for a site is indicated by one of more announcements and news, but students enrolled offer a feed for Alpha Channel, a “guide to button icons, which are usually found near the in Journalism 1 at the school can also subscribe library multimedia services for the UT teaching top, bottom, or side of a page. A web feed also to an associated feed for course updates. & learning community.” In the arena of refer- may be noted with a hotlinked word or phrase, ence services, Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, such as “Syndicate” or “Syndicate This Page.” Enhanced Services includes a feed for its business blog as well as Some libraries have also recognized the poten- one for its general reference service. The News Aggregators and Feed tial of feeds for enhancing conventional