Current awareness

An iGoogle page of RSS feeds

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Introduction

See also Current events and media awareness, Information technology topics & Medical podcasts & videocasts and Twitter

Current awareness services in health libraries is itself part of providing library services, and linked to outreach and keeping users informed. In fact, some health librarians put their current awareness services at the top of their priority lists in the delivery of library services. CA is also a mechanism for those working alone to feel more connected to what is happening. Health librarians use CA services for professional development and staying current. Keeping current in medicine and with information technologies is a priority in the digital age. The idea is health librarians are seen to be more effective by keeping up-to-date with the trends and news in medicine. There are a number of methods to facilitate current awareness for ourselves and our users. We can use electronic and photocopied tables of contents; relevant mailing lists, newspapers and magazines; web sites, books and journals. Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a means of organizing and simplifying current awareness, using feeds from a variety of sources along with aggregator software. The following list is a compilation of sites for medical news available on the web. The sites are limited to those that are open-access, and that direct the user immediately to top health stories, as opposed to requiring the use of a search feature. This list is not exhaustive; rather, it represents some of the more common news sources.

Some select health news outlets

See also Really Simple Syndication (RSS)