This week involved learning about Syndication and Aggregation tools, or tools to make content available for display in regards to the former, and to bring this content together in regards to the latter.
RRS or really simple syndication allows people to subscribe to various content, while RSS readers allow people to organise and read the information they are most interested in. Updated works such as blog entires, news headlines, audio and video updates are included in such feeds. When going to set up my own feed in Google Reader, I discovered that I already had an account with loads of blogs I had been checking manually for quite some time, so knowing the account exists will save me quite a lot of time and energy.
RSS feeds are particularly useful for libraries and librarians as they can display news feeds with top headlines on their websites, syndicate their existing resources and provide feeds of new materials that may be added to their catalogues. They also can provide reader’s recommendations and resources for research. RSS feeds are therefore useful for sending out a variety of content to library patrons, who are often able to find their library’s feed even if they haven’t been advertised. Readers also have control over the information flow of their own feeds, which enhances their user experience.
Libraries can also use RSS feeds and RSS readers to seize a leadership role for their library in creating awareness about and education in the evolving technologies of social networking, blogging, news aggregation and search personalistion. They can market their feeds towards other institutions and clubs in their local area, such as local government entities, schools, sports clubs, and in the case of university libraries, various departments within that university.
Curatorial and Portal tools are also an important aspect of technology available to librarians to enhance the experience of users. Curatorial tools organise, filter and make sense of information on the web and share the best pieces of content that librarians have chosen specifically. By sharing the information and giving credit to the source of that information, one can create relationships and networks. In a world where real time information sources such as twitter have produced seemingly unstoppable waves of information, curation and filtering is becoming increasingly necessary.
The previous post contains an example of how Storify, a curatorial tool, can be used to tell a story about a certain topic using information obtained through various places on the web. I have chosen Neanderthals, as early hominids have always fascinated me, and I’ve studied them previously.
bemkah 