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About RSS Feeds

Current RSS Feeds

What is RSS?

RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, is an easy way to keep up with your favorite news and information. An RSS feed contains headlines, summaries and links to full Press Releases, Member Alerts and other content  on www.asta.org. Currently, you can view RSS feeds through Internet Explorer 7, Netscape, and Firefox.  Although most people do not use a browser to view RSS feeds, you should download an RSS reader. An RSS reader will keep you updated, as long as the reader is running on your computer, with any updates that occurs.

Sample of how you can use a RSS feed.
You want to receive press releases on your desktop without going to www.asta.org. With a RSS reader, releases come to you on your desktop, so if you see one of interest, you click on the title and it takes you to the information.

What are RSS Readers?

RSS news readers are small software programs that aggregate RSS feeds and display the story information. They allow you to scan headlines from hundreds of news sources in a central location.

How Do I Use These Feeds?

If you will be using a reader:

  1. The first step, as described below, is to choose an RSS reader Each reader has a slightly different way of adding a new feed. (recommended)
  2. Click on the link under Current RSS Feeds. You'll see a page displaying one of these two: XML code, or a title and description.
  3. From your browser, copy the URL that appears in your Address Bar
  4. Paste that URL into the 'Add New Channel' section of the reader. You should be all set! The RSS feed will start to display and regularly update the headlines for you.

If you will be using your browser:

  1. Click on the link under Current RSS Feeds. You'll see a page displaying one of these two: XML code, or a title and description.
  2. Once on the page, click the "subscribe" link if you are using Internet Explorer 7. (NOTE: Internet Explorer 7 can subscribe you, but it will not tell you if there are updates.)
  3. Once you are subscribed, click the towards the top left corner of Internet Explorer 7.
  4. Click on Feeds in the pane that appears
  5. Click on the Feed you wish to view

Where Do I Get an RSS Reader?

A wide range of RSS readers can be easily downloaded from the Web. Some readers are Web-based while others require you to download a small software program onto your desktop. Most are free to use. (Several readers require Microsoft's .NET framework on your computer. They may be slightly more complicated to install if you do not have .NET.)

Google and Yahoo! both offer comprehensive lists of RSS readers. A few sample readers are also offered below for the purpose of evaluation:

Where Can I Learn More about RSS?

There are a range of articles about RSS available online. The Lockergnome Web site offers a beginner's tutorial; extended RSS resources are available from Radio Userland. Here are a few additional resources:

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