RSS feeds

What is an RSS feed?

RSS is a way of providing content or summaries of web content in a simple format. Most feeds consist of links to web pages, sometimes with a short description, but feeds can also include audio (podcasts) and video (vidcasts) content.

The advantage of RSS is that you can quickly scan a large amount of information to find new and updated content. The RSS feed is read by a stand-alone reader, your browser or a web-based service which automatically checks to see which of your chosen feeds have updated content.

How do I get a RSS reader?

You can download a stand-alone reader, use the reader in your browser or use a web-based reader. There are also readers that deliver RSS feeds as email or to your mobile. A brief list is included below or go to News on Feeds for a large selection.

Browsers

Having your RSS feeds read by your browser means you don’t need any additional software. Current versions of most mainstream browsers have this feature.

• Firefox
• Opera
• Internet Explorer
• Safari (Apple Mac)

Web services

Using a web-based RSS reader means you can log in to your RSS feeds anywhere in the world. Services are often teamed with web-mail, blogging etc.

• Google Reader
• My Yahoo!
• NetVibes
• Bloglines

How do I find feeds?

Many blogs and news web sites will feature an RSS feed. Look for the standard RSS icon although many sites use other icons which may read XML, RSS (frequently on an orange background) or icons of the key RSS readers.

How do I subscribe to RSS feeds?

How you subscribe to RSS feeds will depend very much on what reader/browser combination you choose to use.

If subscribing in your browser look for the standard RSS icon in your browser (often the address bar) — if it’s there it means there are RSS feeds available from that page. Click on the icon and you will see a list of available feeds.

• Drag the logo onto your RSS reader, or
• Right-click the logo and select "Copy Shortcut or Copy Link Location" to copy the RSS feed URL, which you can then paste into the appropriate place in your RSS reader

Related pages

• Learn about Podcasts
• Christchurch City Libraries’ RSS feeds

Find out more about RSS

• RSS in Plain English - a great little video from Common Craft - an introduction to RSS as a way to save time reading web sites.
• Search our catalogue for RSS feeds
• Safari Tech Books online - a large selection of technical books online
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