The value of RSS feeds for current awareness is obvious and current awareness (or SDIs) is a key service libraries have long been known to provide to users. I would certainly use the PubMed RSS feed to help researchers keep current with their specific research topics. The trick is getting researchers to change their habits and move to this current cutting edge (well, maybe not that new!) technology. Some are more willing than others to incorporate new technologies into their routines.
Libraries can also provide RSS feeds for any blogs or wikis or other electronic content they have created. Again, the difficulty is in getting users to subscribe. Content must be valuable and frequently updated.
Creating a blog using wordpress.com was a good experience for me because we use wordpress for our library’s news – but I didn’t set it up myself. Now I know have experienced the process I have a much better understanding of the terminology and general workings of the blog.
I had set up a bloglines account along time ago – and never adapted to using it. Now I have started a reader in Google and will try to adapt again. In theory, RSS feeds seem great to help one keep current but finding the time and inclination to GO somewhere for the information is difficult. It is a benefit to have everything you need at one location however. I found that several of the journals I wanted to subscribe to didn’t have RSS feeds – that was frustrating.
