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Using RSS Feeds
What are RSS feeds?
How do you read and subscribe to RSS feeds?
What are RSS feeds and what can they do for you?
"RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication," "Rich Site Summary" or "RDF Site Summary." A RSS feed contains summarized information from a website, written in XML, and is "fed" to you usually on a daily basis when you subscribe. This saves you the work of having to visit a number of websites everyday to get the newest information from your favorite sites. For example, a RSS feed for a national news website would provide you with that day's headlines and then you could select links to read the full articles.
The electronic resources available through the UNT Libraries use RSS feeds to inform users of numerous events: news about a professional association, changes to a database, the addition of new journal issues to a database, the addition of database items that match your saved search, and more.
The icon that indicates a website or electronic resource has RSS feeds is an orange square containing sound waves, the letters "RSS," or the letters "XML." Here is an example of what to look for: 
How do you read and subscribe to RSS feeds?
RSS feeds are read using software called a RSS reader, which can be web- or desktop-based. Bloglines and Google Reader are two examples of free web-based RSS readers. It takes a matter of minutes to establish an account in a web-based RSS reader. Some examples of free desktop-based RSS readers are SurfPack and Awasu. These take a bit longer to establish because they have to be downloaded and installed on your computer.
Once you have a RSS reader, then you can start subscribing to RSS feeds from your favorite websites. Start off by locating the button or link in your reader that allows you to add subscriptions. There are several methods for subscribing; three are described below:
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Go to a website and look for the orange RSS feed icon. When you left click on it, you are usually given a choice of readers to which you can save the URL. Choose your reader and then the title of the RSS feed should show up in your list of subscribed feeds.
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Go to a website, right click on the RSS feed icon and choose "Copy link location." Next, go to your RSS reader and click on the button or link for adding subscriptions. Copy the link into the box that comes up and enter to add the RSS feed to your subscribed list.
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Start in your RSS feeder and click on the button or link to add subscriptions. Most readers will let you do a keyword search for RSS feeds. Review the search results and add the RSS feeds of your choice.
To learn more about RSS feeds and readers, visit RSS Specifications: Everything You Need to Know about RSS.