Subscription, yes, but not really simple

I made several missteps while completing this task, but the end result is both exciting and useful, especially now. My brother is very ill with advanced, inoperable liver cancer (metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma), and I comb the Internet for encouraging news. My job just became a good deal more efficient -- if only it were more fruitful!

As for missteps, I started by going to a few sites, only to discover that they didn't offer RSS. I never did see an RSS icon in my browser's address bar (even on sites that I eventually added to my Reader!). I finally realized that I could search RSS-equipped sites by entering search terms at Add Subscription. (Yes, yes, Andy probably covered this is his rapid-fire tutorial, but the non-interactive and outdated interface didn't help me much with the task at hand.) When I finally located relevant sites and got them into my Reader, I signed out and decided to "check back" per instruction #5 -- but back where? I eventually found a link for Reader buried under "More" on the Google home page -- not very intuitive, but it got me where I wanted to go. The URL we used to set up our page also worked.

The next problem I intend to solve is how to add a new site to my Reader. Unfortunately, the Reader page now looks different than it did at setup. According to Reader Help, there is supposed to be an Add Subscriptions link, but I'm just not seeing it. ... Success! In reckless desperation, I clicked on a tiny, unlabeled gray triangle in the left margin of the Reader page. A new column containing the Add Subscriptions link appeared! Who knew?

A blog is born

Aside from a few navigational snafus, I found the task to be straightforward and interesting. I enjoyed the other library blogs and was pleased to see the use of more than one language. I was particularly impressed with the industrious folks at Darien -- and only a little less so when I realized they're in Darien, Connecticut. SPL can certainly follow the lead of the vanguard bloggers in highlighting specific interest areas that viewers can find without trudging through an entire site. We seem to have the beginnings of a blog with our archived front page.

I read and left a comment on Camlibrarian.

After I previewed my post, I injudiciously hit my back arrow and seemed to lose the whole thing! (Who knew that Hide Preview was the button I wanted?) How nice to discover in my panic that Blogger had saved a draft!