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RSS Feeds allow you to automatically receive updates to the library's blog, as well as new additions to our collection, as a sort of online subscription. These "feeds" can be easily browsed by visiting a single web page, called a "news reader". The news reader automatically checks for updates and displays them for you. This way you don't have to remember to keep checking our website yourself. You just have to check your news reader.
Would you like to be able to be notified every time the library receives new books by your favorite authors? Or every time we buy a new item in your favorite subject area? Well now you can. See below for details.
The library's blog is an occasional online newsletter where we post news of what is going on at the library and upcoming events. You can subscribe via email or by RSS feed.
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If you don't use Firefox or are using an earlier version of Internet Explorer, you can get RSS feeds with the help of several different free websites, including the following:
If you have a Google or Yahoo account, you can use their RSS readers as well.If you don't want to be bothered with having to check a separate RSS feeder or web page for your feed, there are also services that will email you notices whenever a new feed is available. The only one we know of that will work at this time with our new book alerts is Feedblitz, which is free. If you want to receive our blog or other fields by email, you can also try RSSfwd, but at present our book alerts don't work with this service.
Simply do a "Basic" search of the library's catalog and click on the orange RSS feed button at the bottom of the list of results that comes up.
For example, if you want to know when the library receives a new title by John Grisham, go to the "Basic search" page of our catalog and peform a search for Author - Begins With - Grisham, John. A page of results will appear listing all of our titles by Grisham. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the orange 
link. If your browser's software knows what to do with it you will be prompted to add a new feed. If this brings up a page of complex code you should copy the web page address (URL) and paste it into the appropriate form on your RSS feeder's web page.
For subject searches, you should make sure first that you are doing the exact search you need to give you the items you want. Try a few different searches to make sure you get what you need. As an example, if you want to receive notice of all new titles having to do with the Iraq War, search for Subject -- Begins With - Iraq War. The same orange link will appear at the bottom of the screen.
If all of this sounds quite complicated, well, it is. Feel free to ask us for help getting this started. But once you master the details we expect you'll be very pleased to be able to get notifications when new books that interest you are received by the library. And when you do, it's a simple matter to place a hold on them through our catalog as well. If you don't know how to do that either, please ask us the next time you are in.
