RSS of your library account updates

If you use RSS feeds in a newsreader, you already know the value of inviting frequently updated information to come directly to your desktop. It's a way to save time while still keeping up with the tons of information we want to see each day. You save time by going only to one website--your own customized newsreader with your selected news ready to go whenever you are ready.

If you haven't used RSS feeds before here's a quick way to learn them. Let's use our own library card account information as an example. There are two parts to doing an RSS: Finding the info you want to receive and setting it up in your newsreader. Let's do the first part now.

Part A. Finding the information you want to receive

Step 1. On the library's website , login to your library card account using your library card number and last name (or if you have signed up for a username and password use that to get to your account). Choose the Check my Account option on the left under My Account.

Step 2. Underneath the "Library card account" and "Summary" features, you'll see an entry for "Items checked out". Find the red box that says "RSS Receive Courtesy notifications by RSS". Click on that.

Step 3. A new page will open up that has a description of the RSS under "About this feed" then a long page of computer instructions. Don't worry - you don't need to do anything with the content of this page, you only need the URL in the address bar. All you need to do is find the address bar and copy the URL of the page into your clipboard. Now that we've done that, hold on while we find our newsreader then we can set up the RSS feed.

Part B. Setting up an RSS feed in a newsreader

Step 1. Go to any free newsreader and register (one of the easiest is Newsgator) and create a free account. It's a lot like signing up for a free email account, very tedious but necessary. Be sure to write down your username and password (whatever you do, don't do what I do, which is to just use the same username and password that I use for my email or other easily remembered online accounts).

Step 2. Now we are ready to add the RSS feed from the library account to our newsreader. Each newsreader will have a way to add a feed and on Newsgator it's near the top left labeled "Add Feed". When you click on that you have 4 options for adding feeds: we want the one called "URL and Import".

Step 3. Enter the feed's URL. Here is where we paste the previously copied URL from our library account RSS page. Don't forget to move down to the second section of that page to enter your credentials. The RSS feed needs your library card number and last name to access and deliver this feed each day, so here is where you put that information. Newsgator calls them "Custom credentials" and has a space for username and password, so enter your library card and last name.

Step 4. Your new library courtesy notices will appear in your list of RSS feeds on the left side of your newsgator account. You can check your library information while you read any other newsfeeds you've signed up for. It's an easy way to stay on top of things by letting them come to you.

You are done! Now each day you'll receive the latest information about your holds, courtesy reminders, and overdue notices directly to your desktop.

If you are new to RSS you may want to add other RSS feeds. Here are a few of interest to library folks because they are mainstream library blogs that offer daily updates. With these feeds you either paste in the URL to your "Add feeds" section or go to this website and look for the RSS or XML buttons to find the URL.

The Shifted Librarian

Tame the Web: a Weblog by Michael Stephens

PW Daily News

And here are two that are just news (it makes sense for a newsreader to deliver news doesn't it?):

cnn.com
azcentral's RSS options are amazing

Let me know if this works for you. I hope it's an easy way to learn about a new feature of our website and help patrons with questions on RSS.