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RSS Help
Geology Library Home

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS allows for users to subscribe to a service, most of which are free, and receive news and information directly to their computers. It is similar to receiving news from an email list, but subscribing and unsubscribing is completely at the users discretion and no personal information is collected. Many RSS readers (called aggregators) can also serve as email clients (similar to Microsoft Outlook® and Eudora®).

What do I need in order to receive RSS feeds?

The first thing that you need is an aggregator. There are numerous aggregators available on the internet, most of them free. Here are a select few aggregators that are popular and available free:

Mozilla Thunderbird (also serves as an email client) instructions
My Yahoo! (requires a Yahoo! username) instructions
Google (requires a Google username)

Many more readers are available for download.

After creating a username or installing the software, the next step is to begin subscribing to news feeds. In the following description, I will use the Geology Library's RSS feed as an example. When you see this icon, , there is a feed that can be subscribed to. Right click on the icon to bring up a menu. Select "Copy Link Location" when using Firefox or "Copy Shortcut" when using Internet Explorer.

Within your RSS reader, go to the area that allows for the subscription to feeds. It would be impossible to describe every reader, so I will use an example. In Mozilla Thunderbird, click "News & Blogs" along the left side. Then select "Manage Subscriptions." Then select "Add." Once the option is available, paste the feed URL into the appropriate place (the Geology Library's feed URL is GEOrss.xml). Finalize the subscription and then you are ready to receive feeds. Most readers are going to be similar. Upon opening the reader program, it may automatically download the latest feed or it may need to be told to retrieve the latest feed. All programs are going to come with a refresh or update feed button. That's everything needed to subscribe to an RSS feed.

If there are any questions about receiving the Geology Library News feed or if there are any problems setting up your reader, stop by the Geology Library or contact Mary Scott or Patti Dittoe.

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Compiled and designed by Michael C. Veres, Student Library Assistant
Last updated: April 3, 2006