November 14, 2004

Staying updated with Library News Channels

How to stay informed with Library News Channels
Since the Libraries use blog technology to update their News Channels, you can add it to your news reader to get updates about Library news and resources.

What is a news reader? (sometimes called news aggregators, RSS readers, feed readers, or readers)
Readers are software or web-based applications that allow you to select and read many websites (if they use blog technology) using a common interface. Instead of having to visit each site individually, you can read all of the sites that you have selected in one convenient format. View image

How do I get a Reader?
There are many free readers that can be found at Web Compendium. We suggest Bloglines and Pluck.

What Is A Blog?
A blog, or weblog, is a regularly updated website that lists its entries in reverse chronological order and offers a way to syndicate the site though feeds.

What are Feeds? (sometimes called news feeds, xml feeds, RSS Feeds, or RSS)
Feeds are an XML versions of blog posts that can be read by Readers. Feeds are respresented by the orange xml button, a RSS button, or possibly text that says "Syndicate this Site" or "RSS Feed".

How do I add a blog to my Reader?
With most Readers, feeds can be added by dragging and dropping the XML button, RSS button, or the "Syndicate this Site" link into your Reader. View image

Why do the UT Libraries use blog technology?
The Libraries use blog technology to quickly update our users about library-related events, news, & resources. Also, as mentioned above, it allows our users to add our news feed to their readers.

How do I start my own blog?
The UT Libraries use software from Moveable Type, which is modestly priced for educational institutions. However, there are many free blog hosting services that you may wish to investigate, with the most popular being Blogger. Many other blog hosting services are listed at Web Compendium.

Posted by Donna Braquet at 12:21 PM