By now most librarians are familiar with a host of 2.0 tools, but many of us are still wondering how best to take advantage of them. This presentation will demonstrate a few ways that librarians can harness the power of RSS to broadcast quality information – the stuff we create or even the stuff we curate – into the places that matter most to our patrons: online course management systems, library websites, patron iPods, or other community centered sites. Starting off with a quick and effective overview of RSS technology, the presentation will move immediately into practical applications of interest to academic and public librarians, and will include extensive (hopefully live!) demonstrations of how RSS-powered content from blogs, news sites, library databases, and more can be delivered to our patrons when they want it, where they want it.

Tools explored include blogs, podcasts, an RSS to Javascript converter (Feed2JS), and WebCT or Blackboard as well as Google Pages.

Co-presented with Barret Havens