Once again, Paul Pival at Distant Librarian has scooped me on a truly cool use of RSS to improve library service.
Paul wrote about Intuitive Revelations: The Ubiquitous Reference Model in AltRef, Brian Matthews' blog. In his article, Brian describes an experiment he conducted at Georgia Tech. The experiment followed 40 Georgia Tech students' blogs. He subscribed using Bloglines and set uph keyword searches for words such as "library," "assignment," and similar terms. When he found blog entries related to the students' academic needs, he posted comments in their blog pointing them toward useful resources.
Brian concludes, in part:
Blogs allow us to interact with students in their natural
environment, and to provide timely, meaningful, and intuitive assistance. Reaching
out to students creates a personal connection. It allows them to see us as allies,
rather than as part of the academic bureaucracy. Monitoring blogs also gives
librarians a sense of ubiquity, empowering us to follow the whims, needs,
expectations, and experiences of the population we serve...
Isn't that what librarianship is all about?
