The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

Contents:
1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ Reader’s Advisory
3/ Holiday Closings
4/ Useful Web Links Section Highlight
5/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the November issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will focus on the literature and reading resources available online through the library. First we will tour our "Reader’s Advisory" section. We will tell you about a holiday closing and explore another area of our Useful Web Links, the "Language and Literature" section.

We hope you enjoy receiving Books & Bytes. Please let us know what you think of our publication by writing to: webmaster@pbclibrary.org

2/ Reader’s Advisory

Looking for more information on well-known and not so well-known literature? Or do you simply want to read a good book? The library makes it easy for you to answer the question "What do I read next?" Just visit our "Reader’s Advisory" web site!

Reader’s Advisory is divided into fourteen sections. These sections are listed below.

Book/Reading Lists - Contains lists of must read books including the "Modern Library 100 Best Novels."

Ethnic Writers - Links to web sites focusing on the writings of African-American and Native American authors.

Florida - Spotlight on Florida writers, featuring both the famous and the up-and-coming.

Historical Fiction - A list of web sites that provide information to help in the appreciation of stories set in olden times.

Horror - Find a new chilly tale to frighten you from our collection of horror resources.

Literary Criticism - Explore the "Internet Public Library Online Literary Criticism Guide."

Mysteries - The online world of Mystery is covered in five subsections: General Mystery Sites, Mystery Listservs, Mystery Organizations, Mystery Subgenre, and Sleuths.

Online Book Clubs - Select and join a friendly online book club from our list that includes "Chapter-A-Day" and the "Oprah Reading Club."

Online Reader's Guides - Surf through our collection of reader’s guides, including those produced by the large publishing houses.

Publishers - Jump directly to the web sites of many of America’s major publishing companies.

Romance - Explore the wide world of online Romance literature in this section, which is divided into the subsections: Web Sites, Online Romance Magazines, Romance Organizations, and Romance Sub-Genres.

Science Fiction - Jet off into the future with our selection of high-quality Science Fiction web sites, such as the "SF Site" and the "Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America."

Westerns - Go back to the days of cowboys and ranchers with our selection of Western writing resources.

General Sites for Readers/Writers - A list of useful web sites for those who simply enjoy reading and for the aspiring writers of the world.

We also offer access to "Novelist" in all our libraries. "Novelist" is an electronic reader’s advisory resource which assists fiction readers in finding new authors and titles. You may access it while in one of our libraries by viewing the list of electronic databases.

In future issues of Books & Bytes we will take time to explore the Reader’s Advisory section in further detail. In the meantime, feel free to explore it yourself.

3/ Holiday Closings

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will be closed on Monday, December 24, and Tuesday December 25 in observance of the Christmas holidays. (No materials due on this day; you may return materials in the book drop.)

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will close at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, December 31. All locations will remain closed for New Year’s Day, January 1. (No materials due on this day; you may return materials in the book drop.)

4/ Useful Web Links Highlight

As a regular feature each month, we examine one section of our Useful Web Links. Our web directory is compiled by librarians who apply their knowledge and experience of the Internet to locate the best web sites for each topic.

Need a little assistance spelling a word? Looking for fiction or poetry resources? Having a hard time figuring out a foreign language? Then our "Language and Literature" section is for you. It is divided into two parts, appropriately titled "Language" and "Literature."

The "Language" section contains a wide variety of resources dealing with the English language and other tongues. Learn sign language from the "Animated American Sign Language Dictionary." Learn about foreign languages from "Ethnologue" and the "Foreign Language Learning Center." Need a little help composing that poem? Check out the "Rhyming Dictionary" to form that perfect couplet. Can you define "Gowpen" or "Spondulicks?" Run over to "World Wide Words" to discover the meaning of these crazy words. On top of these resources, you can find basic English, French, and other dictionaries at "yourDictionary.com."

The "Literature" section is a good companion for our Reader’s Advisory, containing many scholarly resources. If poetry is your passion, check out "The Academy of American Poets" and "The Atlantic Online Poetry Pages" along with the "Glossary of Poetic Terms." We also provide access to the "Gale Literary Index" and the "New York Review of Books." Finally, if you are trying to track down the words from a recent speech or interview, look no further than the "Speech & Transcript Center" at George Washington University.

Please take some time to view the many offerings available on the "Languages and Literature" section of Useful Web Links.

5/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

Looking for an event at the library? In our next issue we will examine "News & Events," which contains a listings of the great programs that happen every month at the library.