Looking at Blogs and Blog Readers

 Looking at Blogs and Blog Readers

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs! Information is everywhere and at our fingertips! With so much available, it can be rather difficult to keep track of everything. Wouldn't it be wonderful for you to find a site which will allow you to keep track of numerous blogs at the same time? There is! Blog Readers are the key which will maintain the integrity, of what may otherwise be blogger's chaos. Blog Readers provide a way of tracking your daily blogging reads in an organized, and easy to navigate, fashion. 

Although I am improving, my experience with blogging and Blog Readers has been pretty much under the radar. I knew what blogs were, but did not know about Blog Readers, and I have to say that it all felt very overwhelming for me. When I found a blog that I enjoyed reading, I would bookmark it and for one reason or other, hardly ever went back to it. I think it was the hassle of trying to look through all of the bookmarks I had. When I came across an article titled, "6 Best Free RSS Feed Readers" by Lindsey Liedke, I became excited to finally immerse myself in a not-so-chaotic blogging world. 

Upon reading her various Blog Reader recommendations, I was stuck between two. To me, Feedly and Inoreader seemed like two great choices. I decided to try Inoreader first. I created an account and quickly realized that it was not the one for me. I felt overwhelmed. What I should have done was look for a quick tutorial, but I thought it would be more inviting and user friendly. Additionally, I quickly noticed that some of the material was more for adult readers, which is something to think about when looking for articles or when searching for blogs. 

I then turned to my gut feeling and to give Feedly a try. I loved that Feedly looked clean to me. It just made sense to me. I also loved the idea that it allows you to share content with others and to create notes, which is something that is really important to me. I also found it very easy to look for blogs that I would be interested in and quickly began to look through them. Other features include: ability to link to DropBox which can provide backup for saved articles, connect to Twitter, with the upgraded version, and other interesting features. All of the Blog Readers I read about offer great features which may allow you view the content directly on a computer or from a handheld device, as well as ways to personalize, categorize, and markup. 

These are some of the sources that I added to my Feedly:

1. YALSAblog- This is the official blog for Young Adult Library Services Association. It provides timely information about emerging and new practices for library services for and with teens, to explore practices in related fields relevant to teen services, to raise awareness about appropriate tools that can be utilized with and for teens. I decided to follow this blog in order to keep current with YALSA information.

2. A Fuse #8 Production- Sponsored by School Library Journal and written by Betsy Bird, who is a New York Public Library's Youth Materials Collection Specialist, it is a youth literature blog. This blog contains numerous articles, book reviews, comments, related articles, and numerous tools that can be used with and for teens. I followed this blog because I found that I enjoy reading articles published by School Library Journal.

3. The Incredibly True Adventures of a School Librarian- This blog is by Nikki Robertson who was a ISTE Librarian Network President. Her posts include suggestions that school librarians can use when starting the school year. Additionally, she includes resources for events like Banned Book Week and activities to meet those events that can be used with student in the library. I followed her blog because it seems interesting, relatable, and she has innovative ideas that can inspire other librarians. 

4. Elementary Librarian- This site and blog is a resource for elementary school librarians. This is a community were librarians can connect and learn off of each other. It was created by a certified K-12 librarian in 2012. It allows librarians to shares lesson plans, resources, and ideas which can be used. I followed this blog because I have not had experience at the elementary level and feel like I would benefit by being a part of this community. Additionally, it has various interviews with elementary school librarians which are interesting. 

5. The Daring Librarian- This award winning blog site is by Gwyneth Jones, a Google Certified Innovator & Ambassador, a PBS / MPT American Graduate Champion of Change, PBS, NTTI, & MPT Teacher of the Year. Her writings have been featured by numerous publishings. She makes great suggestions for technology tools, reading lists, and ways to make you classroom or library inviting and innovative. I follow this blog because it has great ideas and I feel will be a great asset as a school librarian to know about new features in technology.

I am very excited to continue searching and growing, in an organized way, as a information specialist. If you would like to visit my Tumblr site, click on the link! Let's share fun ideas about reading and technology!

*Find the article by Lindsay Liekda here. 6 Best Free RSS Feed Readers You will not be disappointed! She shares great tips and suggestions to the best free Blog Readers.