Kim Armstrong
Director of Collections Services, Brookens Library

Abstract:
A cooperative project between UIS & SIUE to incorporate standard tools to enhance library resources and services within a course management system will be demonstrated. Using RSS feeds within Blackboard, the libraries provide content targeted for individual courses as well as research tutorials and general library information for students and faculty.

Content:
A June 2006 article in University Business magazine entitled RSS: The Next Big Thing in University Web Communications, states that RSS is generally considered the best web content delivery method for any information publisher, including universities. Using RSS technology, a university library can feed library research tutorials, new book announcements, tables of contents for scholarly journals, and database search results on any topic, directly to course pages in Blackboard.

The benefit of using RSS feeds from the library is that the information is dynamically created and replaces the need for students to move out of their course environment in order to search the library website. Faculty can collaborate with librarians to tailor the RSS feeds to meet the learning outcomes for any course.

As online learning and the use of course management systems grow, students become more removed from the physical space of the library and rely more heavily on the Internet tools at hand, such as Google. By leveraging easy-to-use RSS technology within the course management system, librarians and faculty can encourage students to use digital library resources, thereby improving the quality of the students research and learning outcomes.ave received from the workshops we have conducted. After the presentation, the audience will then have an open discussion about ways they could use Elluminate for their department's services.