RSS feeds and e-journals

In yesterday's Getting started with RSS blog entry, I outlined how to get started on RSS by setting up an RSS feed reader and adding the Himmelfarb Library blog. Now, whenever new content is available on the Himmelfarb Library blog and the other content sources that I select (e.g. new journal articles, news stories, etc.), I will be notified automatically. Today, I would like to talk about adding favorite journals to your RSS feed reader.

By adding your favorite journals to your RSS feed reader (e.g. Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.) you will be notified when a new issue is available or when new articles are posted to the journal's website. The Ebling Library provides an extensive list of RSS Feeds for E-Journals (Alphabetical) and is focused on health sciences journals. This list allows you to browse 1400+ health sciences journals which provide RSS feeds; these titles can be browsed alphabetically or by subject area.

I would like to add the RSS feeds for several high-profile journals to my feed reader. Here are the steps necessary to add the JAMA RSS feed to Bloglines, the feed reader that I selected:

1. I accessed Bloglines, the RSS feed reader that I selected, then logged in.
2. I clicked on 'Add'. Bloglines displayed the 'Subscribe' page which contained a box where I need to paste the address of the JAMA RSS feed .
3. In a new web browser window, I accessed the RSS Feeds for E-Journals (Alphabetical) webpage, and browsed to the JAMA entry.
4. I clicked on the small orange RSS icon next to JAMA; a page of programming/source code displayed.
5. Ignoring the programming/source code, I looked in the address (location) area and copied the address displayed there (http://jama.ama-assn.org/rss/current.xml).
6. I returned to my Bloglines window and pasted the address in the 'Subscribe' box.
7. Bloglines displayed some information about the subscription, and I clicked on ‘Subscribe’ to complete the subscription.

   To add RSS feeds for additional journals (e.g. Nature, Science, etc.), I repeated the above steps by clicking on 'Add' in Bloglines, and copying/pasting the address of each RSS feed which I found using the RSS Feeds for E-Journals webpage.

   Next: adding RSS feeds for database searches.