What is RSS?

What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML-based format for content distribution. 

The Dewey editorial staff offers several RSS feeds to help you stay up-to-date with the continually revised Dewey Decimal Classification®. 

Available RSS feeds

Listed in the table below are the RSS feeds provided by the Dewey editorial staff.  Each RSS feed contains a brief description of its contents along with a list of actions:

1. Have you ever wondered why those and icons have been appearing on Web pages?  Those icons indicate the presence of an RSS feed and are hyperlinked to the actual RSS feed content.  Clicking on these icons will usually result in viewing a page full of garbled text or XML markup, depending upon your Web browser. 

   Some RSS readers, such as SharpReader, allow you to drag a hyperlink into their address box to view or subscribe to an RSS feed.  Since the icons in the table below are hyperlinked to their respective RSS feeds, you may drag and drop the icon onto your RSS reader when it supports this feature. 

   When your RSS reader doesn't support dragging and dropping of hyperlinks, you can copy the hyperlink with your Web browser and paste it into your RSS reader.  Most Web browsers support copying hyperlinks by right-clicking on the hyperlink and choosing a context menu choice, such as, "Copy Shortcut", "Copy Link Location", or "Copy link address".  Alternately, you can click on the icon, then copy the Web address from the address box of your Web browser and paste it into your RSS reader. 

2. To add an RSS feed to your Bloglines account, click on the icon. 
3. To add an RSS feed to your My Yahoo! account, click on the icon. 

4. Many RSS readers, such as SharpReader, support a feature called subscription requests.  When a subscription request is received by the RSS reader, the reader will automatically add the RSS feed URL to its address bar where you can subscribe to it.  Subscription requests are generated by clicking a special icon or link.  To add an RSS feed to your RSS reader's address bar, when it supports subscription requests, click on the icon. 

5. Should you encounter problems with an RSS feed, click on the icon link to validate the RSS feed. 

RSS feed subscription list

Name	Description	Actions
Dewey® Journal	Latest Dewey Decimal Classification® news and announcements, DDC mappings, and tips.  The Dewey® Journal encompasses items from all the Dewey® RSS feeds.
Dewey® Mappings	Latest DDC mappings to other vocabularies.
Dewey® News	Latest information about discussion papers and other news that will help you stay up-to-date with Dewey®.
Dewey® Tips	Latest tips for classifying with Dewey® and using WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey in OCLC Connexion®.
Dewey® Updates	Latest DDC mappings to other vocabularies, new and changed entries, and news about Dewey® Services enhancements.

RSS 2.0

There currently are several versions of RSS in use.  The Dewey® RSS feeds use the RSS 2.0 specification.  For more details on RSS, try this useful (though slightly dated) RSS FAQ or the RSS 2.0 specification (which also includes samples of earlier versions). 

Interaction ...the human kind

Do you have any questions, comments, or concerns about our RSS feeds or our usage of RSS?  Please let us know by e-mailing: dewey@oclc.org.