What on earth is RSS: and why you should, and how you can, get a blog reader

What is RSS?

RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' or 'Rich Site Summary'. RSS lets you choose to receive content from a number of websites and read it in one place (websites push content - or 'feed' it - out to you) rather than you visiting each website.

What can an RSS Feed Reader do for me?

• Save you a lot of time and keep you up to date with news and research in your subject area
  
  
• It’s separate from your email, so won’t bombard you with extra mail
  
  
• Puts you in charge - you decide when you want to view the content - once or twice a week is enough to keep up to date

What ‘news’ can I subscribe to?

• Tables of Contents for your favourite journals via Zetoc: you will need your Athens password to set these up, after that they will automatically feed into your account
  
  
• Database searches:, such as PubMed - set up a search on PubMed, select ‘send to RSS’, the information will pop into your reader. Then every time an article is added to PubMed with those search terms it will automatically feed into your feed reader
  
  
• News from these sites (and many others)
  
  National Library for Health
  
  BBC Health
  
  NHS Behind the Headlines

For example, see the end of our blog; it has automatic updates from several health news feeds

• Blogs – to support you in your work and keep you up to date with important new resources, for example:
  
  AECC Library blog
  
  BU Library blogs
  
  To search for other blogs, for example on Chiropractic, try these search engines:
  
  http://technorati.com/
  
  http://www.google.com/blogsearch
  
  http://www.icerocket.com/

How do I get a feed reader?

To use RSS, you will need a feed reader. We recommend a web based product, you will be able to access this from wherever you are on the web. They are very easy to use.

Depending on your choice, you can then subscribe to the content in various ways, such as dragging the URL of the RSS feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the URL into a feed reader.

We recommend:

Google’s Reader: http://www.google.com/reader

For help with this see: http://www.google.com/help/faq_reader.html

Ask’s Bloglines: http://www.bloglines.com/

There is a useful tutorial on how to use Bloglines (with kind permission from the University of California Library, Santa Cruz website): http://library.ucsc.edu/science/rss.html

But there are many more – an Internet search on ‘RSS readers’ will provide you with more options.


If you have any questions, or you if you would like further help, please contact Caroline Cooke.

EndNote Web - it's here!

You may have noticed our blog has been a little quiet lately. There is a good reason for this - we have been working to get EndNote Web ready for you to use.

The great news is that you can register for an EndNote Web account immediately (you will need to be on campus).

What is EndNote Web?

EndNote Web is a new service we subscribe to for staff and students at the AECC. It is designed to assist students and researchers when writing a research paper. Use EndNote Web to save time and organise your references for citing in Projects, Dissertations and Assignments.

We are trialling EndNote Web until July 2009; if it is a success with students and staff we will renew the contract - we need your feedback!

For more information, on how to get started with EndNote Web, please visit our Intranet (or see the email dated 17/11/08).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Don't forget! Please let us know what you think of it…

Welcome to the AECC Library weblog

The aim of our blog is to provide you with up to date information on our resources, services, research skills and much more. We will also be posting hints and tips on how to make the most of our resources.

We want to hear from you, please let us know what you think of the blog and our resources; email us or you can share your comments on our blog.

Posts coming very soon...

Books - to help you through the first term!...

EndNote Web: a brand new service brought to you by the AECC Library...

What on earth is RSS: and why you should, and how you can, get a blog reader.

You can subscribe to our blog with a Blog reader (RSS Reader), or to subscribe by email please contact us.

Books to help you through the first term!

We have selected some books for you to welcome you to AECC, if it is your first term, or to welcome you back if you are returning after the vacation ~

First - for all new students:

1. 'How to be a student: 100 great ideas and practical habits for students everywhere', Sarah Moore & Maura Murphy, OUP, 2005

2. 'Understanding university: a guide to another planet', Christine Sinclair, OUP, 2006

3. 'Write great essays!: a guide to reading and essay writing for undergraduates and taught postgraduates', Peter Levin, OUP, 2004

4.'Writing at university: a guide for students' 2nd ed., Phyllis Creme & Mary R. Lea, OUP, 2003

may be of interest to staff:

5. 'How to get a PhD: a handbook for students and their supervisors' 4th ed., Estelle M. Phillips and Derek S. Pugh. , OUP, 2005

6. 'Writing for academic journals 1.', Rowena Murray, OUP, 2004

one specially for our distance learners:

7. 'Studying at a distance: a guide for students', Christine J. Talbot, OUP, 2003

and if you are thinking about writing your own blog, this will help you get started (it helped us!):

8. 'Blogging for dummies' 2nd ed., Susannah Gardner, Shane Birley, Brad Hill, For Dummies Series, 2008

All of the above are available as Electronic books via our Intranet (see Dawson E-books, if you are off campus you will need to login first) and all but 7- 8 are held in the Library.