What are Web feeds?
Web feeds are computer-readable files that summarise new content as it appears on a website, often containing news. Using web feeds is an excellent way to keep track of rapidly changing content from numerous sites. They primarily utilize technologies called RSS and Atom, which are just two different formats that achieve the same thing. Each feed includes a heading, a brief description of the new content and a link to the website.
Web feeds also allow users to "syndicate" content. This means users can retrieve and display content from Princeton University Library news items on personal web sites without having to add news items manually.
How do I use Web feeds?
Web feeds require a feed reader (or "news aggregator") in order to display content. Feed readers can exist either on your desktop, as a web application, or in your browser. Some feed readers are free, others are not. Most current feed readers support both RSS and Atom. A list of readers can be found below:
Subscribing to a Princeton University Library web feed depends on which feed reader you use. Some web-based and browser-based readers can add feeds simply by clicking on the web feed icons button. Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, have functionality which automatically recognize and subscribe to web feeds for you.
Most desktop-based feed readers simply require you to copy and paste the URL of any given feed into the program.
(Please note: Princeton University Library cannot recommend a particular feed reader, nor can we provide technical support for its installation and use.)
What Web feeds are available from the Library?
- Library News - Announcements, news and articles from around the Princeton University Library.
- New and Featured Database Resources - Find out details about the lastest additions to our resources.
- New Titles - Keep up to date with the latest additions to our catalog.
- Blogs:
