WordPress automatically creates an RSS feed for your blog, which allows readers to subscribe to its content via RSS readers such as Bloglines or Google Reader. Although The OPLIN 4cast is available via RSS feed, we are well aware that many people in the library community are not used to this method of distribution and would prefer to either visit the website itself, or to receive the information via e-mail. For that reason, whenever we add a weekly 4cast to the website, we also send an e-mail via The OPLIN 4cast electronic mailing list, which we set up at the beginning in order to reach as many potential readers in the Ohio public library community as possible.

We also registered The OPLIN 4cast with Technorati (a major blog search engine) and a free service called Ping-O-Matic, which automatically notifies a large number of blog search engines (such as Google Blog Search and Yahoo!) when an update is made to your blog.

We decided early on that in addition to the weekly OPLIN 4cast, we also wanted to add a biweekly podcast to the mix. In order to do that, we used a free plugin designed for use with WordPress called PodPress. PodPress seamlessly integrates with the "Dashboard" (administrative interface) of WordPress, and allows you to easily add media files to a regular blog post.

In addition to being free and fairly straightforward in terms of installation and administration, WordPress has a large, active user community that provides forums for tips and support (WordPress Support).

Because the software that runs WordPress is open source, any amount of customization is possible and in fact, encouraged (WordPress is Infinitely Extensible). For example, there are a large number of themes out there to change the look of your site (Blog Design and Layout). In OPLIN’s case, we simply used the default theme and added our own banner at the top

To use WordPress, OPLIN simply downloaded the latest version of the software and followed the extensive instructions on the Installing WordPress page, which clearly explains how and where to install the software on your local web server. We created a new subdirectory on the OPLIN web server (called www.oplin.org/4cast), and installed the WordPress files there.

Once the software is successfully installed and registered, you receive a login and password from WordPress that allows you to access the administrative interface for the blog (called the Dashboard). From there, you can control just about everything you need to.

The OPLIN 4cast is published using WordPress blog-publishing software. WordPress is written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database, and is available as a free download under a GNU General Public License.

• Getting Started with WordPress

WordPress also offers a blog-hosting service, which is similar to Blogger and LiveJournal, but allows for less customization and direct control.

The OPLIN 4cast is a weekly compilation of headlines, topics, and trends that could impact public libraries, published in a blog format. You can read it at www.oplin.org/4cast, subscribe to it via RSS feed (the URL is www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2), or sign up for The OPLIN 4cast electronic mailing list.