Journal contents pages via RSS

A new way of seeing journal contents pages

Normally speaking I try not to bore you with the details of a highly technical metadata protocol. But RSS feeds have been taking the web by storm and a few words about them are overdue. If you see one of the orange icons above on a website, then you know that there is an RSS feed around somewhere.

RSS feeds are a way of sharing information. They are a stream of items, each containing a title and short description of some web content together with a link to the full version of the content. News headlines and press releases are one common application, but journal contents pages are increasingly being provided this way too. All journals from Nature Publishing Group, Cell Press, PloS, Biomed Central and Oxford University Press make their contents pages available as RSS feeds, as do many of the journals hosted by Highwire Press. Other publishers are expected to add RSS to their options soon. You can also get results from PubMed searches via RSS.

The easiest way to read an RSS feed is to use a web-based service like Bloglines (the most widely used service), Newsgator or netvibes. That way you can subscribe to particular feeds of interest to you and then access them from any location where you have access to a web browser and an internet connection. If you prefer a desktop-based solution you can download free dedicated RSS reader software, such as FeedReader or Omea, (for Windows), Shrook or PulpFiction, (for Mac). There are also many other softwares, some that have a price attached. Alternatively, your web browser may allow you to read RSS feeds directly. Safari and Firefox can do this already and the next version of Internet Explorer will have RSS built in.

What’s the best way? It really depends on your own preferences, and the functionality that you require. A web-based service is the quickest way to take a look at what RSS can do.