Blogs and Blog Readers

Today's society is one that needs everything to be quick and easy, and RSS feed reader apps do just that.  RSS, which stands for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, conveniently lets you follow sites, news or blogs that interest you.  Through these apps, you are able to read the news exactly how you want to read it!

In the article "The 10 Best Free RSS Reader Apps in 2018," several of the apps are highlighted.  The article talks about the apps' costs, web apps, full text and usability among other things.   Many of them caught my eye, such as Bloglovin', Inoreader and The Old Reader, but the one I think would meet my needs the most as a new librarian would be Feedly. https://feedly.com/i/my

Feedly was advertised in the article for providing "every feature you might ever need."  The reasons I chose it were as follows :

• It is compatible on all iOS and Android devices, so I would be able to access it on my phone as well as my iPad and computer.
• The site is very user-friendly, and it is easy to see what you need to do to navigate to the different areas you wish to highlight and learn more about.
• The appearance of the site is appealing, with color photographs and clear, readable font.
• It seems to fit the needs of an elementary school librarian more than some of the other apps such as Newsblur and Netvibes, which are more business-like.
• You can share your feed with others, so I could collaborate with other librarians and teachers about fun things I find!

Five Blogs I Chose to Follow : 

AASL Blog  https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/
This is the blog for the American Association of School Librarians.  It tells you all the news you would ever want to know about what is happening in libraries around the country.  Through following this blog, I can keep up with all the latest trends in libraries, and what I need to do to keep up with the times!!

The Book Bug   http://mrsnthebookbug.blogspot.com/
The Book Bug is the blog of a school library media specialist.  She has a wealth of freebies for librarians, as well as helpful links.  As a new librarian, I think I need to follow as many "seasoned" librarians as I can!:)

The Horn Book   https://www.hbook.com/
This blog by the publication of the same name highlights children's and young adult literature, including reviews of recent books.  When I am building my collection, I will need to turn to blogs such as this one!

The Incredibly True Adventures of a School Librarian  http://www.nikkidrobertson.com/
This is another blog from a school librarian, this time one who is also a past ISTE president.  She talks about current issues/events in school libraries.  The more people I can learn from the better!:)

Public Libraries Online  http://publiclibrariesonline.org/
This blog talks about the latest news in public libraries, as well as book reviews.  Since working with the community is such an important part of a librarian's job, knowing about what is going on with my local library can only strengthen my relationship.

My first Tumblr, which is a work in progress:  https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mrssjennsclass

Citations : 

Volvovski, V.  2018, September 21.  The 10 Best RSS Reader Apps in 2018.  Retrieved from https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/.