RSS for Scholarly PublishersPresented by: Sara Girard

Head of Marketing, Nature journalsNature Publishing Group

November 16, 2004

The questions…

lWhat is RSS and how does it work?lWhat are the benefits to users and to

publishers?l How do we use it and what potential does it

hold?lWhat happens next?

…and the answers…

Really Simple Syndication

l RSS is an XML format that enables the sharing or syndication of bits of information (metadata) rather than the full content to which the link leads.

l RSS metadata includes basic bibliographic details - title, author, publication, volume, issue, page number and doi. Industry standards have been developed for RSS metadata.

Properties of RSS

l RSS feeds can include any web text produced in XML or RDF, including blogs and primary source materials as well as traditionally published content.

l RSS feeds always links back to the source.

How it works

If you click on an RSS or XML button you’ll see something like this.

Using an RSS Reader or aggregator, these feeds become accessible to the end user.

How it works

l The user subscribes to feeds – any websites that offer RSS.l The Reader checks the sites for updated content

(daily, hourly, etc.).l The Reader displays headlines from numerous

sites simultaneously.l So the user has access to the information she

needs, when she needs it.

Everybody’s doing it…

June 2002: ~4,500 feeds availableNov 2004: ~80,900 feeds available

STM Publishers offering RSS feeds:Nature Publishing Group BioMed CentralInternational Unionof Crystallography IngentaAmerican Journal of Neuroradiology ExtenzaInstitute of Physics Publishing ElsevierNational Geographic News American Chemical SocietyBMJ American Institute of PhysicsMedscape Blackwell PublishingScienceDaily Physics OrgAustralian & New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics Journal

Current uses of RSS

l News feedsl TOC alertsl Aggregation lOpen repository of bibliographic metadata

User benefits?

l Saves time and effort.

l Enables user to choose from a variety of sources.

l Less email clutter.

Publisher benefits

l Traffic driver – new way to link to your content as user always has to come back to the source to view the full content. l No spam filters.l Improve search engine ranking. l Large audience, new customers.

The bigger picture

l Changes the way content is read – pull vs. push.

lMakes content across sites seamless.

Potential uses of RSS

l Expand and enrich metadata.l Create other feeds – jobs, events, press

releases, even archival content. l Aggregate across publishers to provide new

product or book annoucements to librarians. Could sort by subject areas. l Include marketing promotions or advertising.

What librarians can do with RSS

l Aggregate journal TOCs – this would allow academics to scan numerous publications from different publishers. l Sort by institutional holdings.l Identify articles published by authors from your

institution.

Case Study: Georgia State University

The future…

l RSS provides an information backbone on which new applications can be built. l Scope for development of subject or resource-

type aggregators – added convenience for user.l Repurposing Content: The XML that RSS reads

can be used to create new HTML web pages.l Content based rather than journal based

resources offer value to the reader and opportunity for the publisher.

Next Generation: URCHIN

l Aggregator and filtering service that uses RSS feeds.

l Represents a commercial opportunity for publishers and 3rd party services.