RSS

A great practical assignment for week 4! It's so good to know how to create a feed to a PubMed search as well as know how to receive the latest updates for a specific journal of interest!

I'm quite intrigued by the RSS/Javascript conversion tool, Feed2JS, as well as the RSS remixer. These could be used to create useful search links on some of Colonial Library's Hot Topics pages. Are these tools readily available? How do we find out more about implementing these on our library webpages?

RSS could replace much of the need for manually sending journal TOCs. I suppose it's really just a matter of promoting this technology to patrons and showing them how easy it is to use. I can see a possible patron preference for receiving a prompt by e-mail over remembering to check an RSS reader, however, most everybody experiences frustration from overloaded inboxes and RSS readers can save them some angst (one just needs to figure out how to organize all the feeds).

David Rothman

We had a great opportunity to hear David Rothman speak about blogs today. He expanded my view on blogs as web diaries and I see more clearly how blogs can quickly relay new information and facilitate the exchange of ideas. His work in the biblioblogosphere is a remarkable example of this new era of publishing.

Libraries 2.0

Libraries 2.0 is a great opportunity for the Mayo Library staff to get a feel of the evolving web technologies. I didn't realize that the notion of Web 2.0 has been around for several years already nor that it has such a user-centered focus. It definitely makes sense that libraries would want to embrace Web 2.0 technologies since patrons are at the core of our services. It's truly fascinating how people are continually finding new and convenient ways to connect and communicate with each other! With the Mayo Clinic Library staff working at such spread about locations, Web 2.0 technologies provide an excellent way for all of us to work more collaboratively despite the distance and time barriers.