Poster about Ebling Library's creation of RSS tools and services for current awareness. Presented at the Medical Library Association's 2008 Annual Meeting.

1. Developing an RSS Current Awareness Service
Allan R. Barclay, AHIP, Information Architecture Librarian; Rebecca J. Holz, Information Architecture Librarian; Christopher Hooper-Lane, AHIP, Instructional Services
Coordinator; Stephen M. Johnson, Health Sciences Librarian; Andrew Osmond, Electronic Resources and Cataloging Coordinator; Erika Sevetson, Health Sciences Librarian,
Ebling Library for the Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Abstract Red Line - News
Orange Line - SDI
Map Legend
Increasingly, journal vendors are making content Routes Blue Line - E-journals
Green Line - Blogs
available via RSS feeds, but barriers still exist between
the user and the content. Inspired by the
Yellow Line - The Future (mobile, à la carte bundles, etc.)
RSS Feed
FeedNavigator, a project of the National Library of
Health Sciences-Terkko, we set out to develop a tool OPML Bundle
that would allow our patrons to easily locate and
subscribe to journal feeds. Using a blog and a wiki for
staff communication and project management
respectively, we created tools that allowed the 6
members of our group to quickly capture and classify New England Journal
feeds for over 1,900 journals. Journal feeds are now of Medicine
available from our site, individually and in bundled,
exportable packages (OPML files). Users can locate Journal of the American
feeds alphabetically or by subject and can preview Feed Readers Medical Association
tables of contents before subscribing to a feed.
Comprehensive bundles of feeds are offered along BioMed Central
with select bundles of quot;best betsquot; titles.
Sage
Browsers & Email
Project Outline Reuters
Phase 1
National Institutes of Health
• Complete assignment of journal titles to
categories. Associated Press
• Develop browser-friendly format for the title
list.
• Release a browsing categories page.
• Complete the revision of our “RSS Info” page.
• Develop end-user instructional materials. David Rothman.net
Phase 2
Bioblogs
• Develop “core titles” packages based on
journal usage, clinical usefulness, and WebMD
liaison librarian collaboration.
• Train library staff on using feed readers and
bundled packages.
• Develop complementary instruction for web
PubMed
delivery.
Phase 3 Cochrane Collaboration
• Develop shopping cart type application to OVID
allow easily created customized feed
collections.
Phase 4
The route to current awareness for healthcare professionals has only gotten more convoluted in the dispersed digital environment.
iPhones
• Develop instructional and promotional plans
to include staff and user training, The identification, location, and management of new journal articles can frustrate and overwhelm even the savviest users.
educational scripts, classes, and handouts, Consequently, many users have given up on current awareness. Librarians at the Ebling Library recognized the need to identify, BlackBerries
as well as strategies to present and collect, and manage new journal articles for scholars, researchers, and practitioners. Our goal was to develop and promote
new routes to current awareness by developing a service for users that would save time, minimize effort, ensure quality, and allow customization.
encourage use among library users. à la carte OPML Bundles
Library website: http://ebling.library.wisc.edu • Project website: http://projects.hsl.wisc.edu/rss