Current Awareness Alerting   Tags: citations, current awareness, databases, journal articles, references, scholarly communication  

Do you ever feel like you're falling behind the literature or overlooking new articles in your field? Are you tired of repeating the same searches over and over again in PubMed or Web of Knowledge? By using the email and RSS alerting capabilities built into databases, search engines, and e-journals, you can save a lot of time and avoid missing key new publications without repeating searches.

Use the tabs above to find alert set-up instructions by resource. Also, if you would like a Talbot Librarian to set up an alert for you, please fill our our search request form, and indicate that you would like to receive current awareness alerts.

Most literature alerting systems support either email alerts or RSS. One is not necessarily better than the other, so choosing between RSS and email alerting should be based on your own needs and preferences. Here is a brief PROS and CONS list for both:

Email

• Pro: new articles will be sent directly to your inbox on a set schedule
• Pro: easy to set up
• Con: usually only one email account can be used per search
• Con: if you already receive too many emails, email alerts may get lost or bounce

RSS  

• Pro: alerts can be embedded in Outlook or any RSS reader (i.e. Google Reader)
• Pro: you can receive new articles outside your overcrowded inbox
• Pro: RSS alerts can be shared among multiple users (great for collaborating)
  
• Con: not everyone knows or understands what it is