A post on the LITA Blog noting open registration for their Forum on September 29–October 2 reminded me that I haven’t posted that I’ll be attending this event for the first time. W00t!

The main reason I am going this time is because I’ll be co-presenting a session about databases and RSS with John Law from ProQuest. Back in September, I posted about going to the Illinois Library Association conference and giving every database and ILS vendor a handout about RSS. The only two companies to follow up with me after the conference were Innovative and ProQuest. John and Kent Kanipe called me and we talked at length about what they could do with RSS, and they “got it” right away. They’ve been working on it ever since, and you can see the first baby step at http://www.il.proquest.com/proquest/rss/.

The examples are great for illustrating how libraries can make use of such feeds. The only feeds they have running right now are on the Curriculum Match Factor page. It’s a static page of some pre-built, keyword feeds designed for a specific curriculum (in this case, a business one). It’s mostly a proof-of-concept, but again, I think it helps illustrate how this type of service will benefit any type of library.

The good news, and the reason I’m co-presenting with John at the LITA Forum, is that they are working on dynamic keyword feeds, as well. While they probably won’t be ready before the Forum, they’re scheduled for Q4, so I’m pretty excited. This is exactly the kind of thing I want from our vendors, so loud applause for ProQuest!