New Class Gets First Offering Today

Intro to RSS goes live today @ 3!


Around four months ago I got the bright idea to write a new class for adult technology offerings. We had gotten some feedback that patrons wanted a more advanced computer class- as all the ones we offered were on the basic level. So I designed a class around using RSS as a more advanced class for the internet.

RSS is a cool function of some websites that allows you to "subscribe" to information, much like how you can subscribe to a magazine. RSS enabled sites update, and send the content directly to subscribers, the same way a new magazine comes out and is delivered to your mailbox.

The new class in using RSS feeds today will be an introduction to subscribing to webpages. We'll show you how to identify, subscribe to, and make use of RSS feeds.

The easiest way to identify RSS is with the orange symbol at the top of this post. With the FireFox webbrowser, RSS enabled sites will have that tag in the address bar.

Websites that have RSS are typically ones that update constantly- like news sources. CNN, NPR and BBC all have RSS enabled homepages. Sports teams and leagues use RSS to follow the news on games, scores and trades.

You can even subscribe to this blog using RSS. Just click on the RSS symbol in far right of the address bar. I happen to thing the Freedom Library Blog makes an excellent addition to any RSS stream.


So come to the Freedom Library today from 3- 5 pm. I'll be teaching this class for the first time in the student lab on the second floor. Seriously, it's going to be fun.