In this week’s chapter on RSS, Meredith Farkas talks about how libraries can use RSS to both push and pull information–pushing information to patrons about the library and subjects that interest them and pulling information from a variety of sources to provide comprehensive coverage on a subject for library users.  There are some libraries out there that are doing great things with RSS.  The Seattle Public Library has been celebrated in the readings and by others as a library that uses RSS the way it should be used–to inform patrons of upcoming events and new materials in the library.  I also found the New York Public Library to be on the cutting edge with their RSS feeds–with subscriptions for events, groups, blogs, NYPL labs (and inside look at the library’s digital explorations) and new databases and indexes.

However, the one thing I’ve learned in my study of RSS this week is that many libraries are not using RSS at the level they should be.  This was particularly evident after examining the Oakland and San Francisco library websites–finding little to no RSS available.  As our information sphere grows larger and larger, RSS becomes an essential tool to manage information overload.  No longer do we have to remember to return to certain websites to find the information we want and need, but we can make that information come to us.  Using RSS in the library catalog or database searches is the advancement in research that many scholars have been wishing for.  RSS is also a great marketing tool.  If you can get people in the community to subscribe to a library events calendar or lists of new books, they may return to the library more often.  Both the Oakland and San Francisco Public Libraries only offer emailed newsletters for some of this information.  While some patrons may still prefer this, why not have both?  The Library of Congress does this, to great effect.  They offer multiple event subscriptions as well as blogs, news, hours of operation, and weekly lists, all by both email subscription and RSS.  If libraries wish to hold on to their position as centers of knowledge in our communities, adding RSS capabilities is a must.