The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

Contents:
1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ Genealogy @ the Library
3/ Useful Web Links Section Highlight
4/ Reader's Advisory Section Highlight
5/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the February issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will focus on the new Genealogy Research Service available through our web site. Then we will explore another area of our Useful Web Links, the "Art & Music" section. Finally, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we will look at the "Romance" links in our Reader's Advisory.

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

2/ Genealogy @ the Library

More than 56 million Americans are actively involved with family history research projects. To help meet this demand for community genealogy resources and assistance in Palm Beach County, the Library System has unveiled a new interactive online information site called "Genealogy Research @your library."
http://www.pbclibrary.org/genealogy.htm

The "Genealogy Research" web site features the Ancestry.com database, interactive listings of the Main Library genealogy resources, and online links to community family history organizations and information sites. The Library System provides free access to the Ancestry.com subscription databases through computers available at our 15 branches. "Genealogy Research" is available from the left-side column of all website pages under "Reference Resources" for easy access.

The Genealogy Research information site is provided as a public service by the Government Research Service staff. Its mission is to promote the wealth of family history resources available through the Library System, local organizations, and the Internet, and to assist in their use. Volunteer subject experts from throughout the system will provide limited online family history referrals as part of the new interactive service. Genealogy workshops will be offered this spring.

For more information about our service, or site content recommendations, contact the Family History E-mail Referral Service at grs@pbclibrary.org
or visit our web site at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/genealogy.htm

3/ 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 Internet experience to locate the best web sites for each topic.

Are you searching for information on the impressionist painters of France? Do you need to find the words to “Achy Breaky Heart” for your next karaoke night? Or do you simply wish to learn more about a rock-and-roll band? If so, take a look through our “Art & Music” links.

The Web is a great place to track down information on art and artists. The “Artcyclopedia” is a comprehensive source of information on art, while “ARTLEX” is a dictionary for art terms and concepts. You can also browse through an online art gallery at “The Web Museum” and find reviews and collecting ideas at “Internet Art Resources.” If your idea of high art is a good Snoopy cartoon, than you will be happy to visit “The International Museum of Cartoon Art” on the web, and perhaps follow up with a visit to their real world location in Boca Raton. For the starving artists out there, “Wet Canvas!” provides lessons, tips, and ideas to help improve anyone’s art skills.

For the music lover, we have a hoard of sites available for your viewing. For tracking down those elusive lyrics, we have four sites to assist you – “Headbang Lyrics,” “The Lyrics Corner,” “OHHLA,” and “The Lyrics Ring.” For those who enjoy Mozart and Beethoven, there is plenty to find at the “All Classical Guide” and “Classical Net” web sites. And if you are a child of the Sixties, you can relive those glory days at “Legacy Links: the Sixties Rock and Roll Index” or find out more about the Fab Four at “The Internet Beatles Album.” Finally, for a more scholarly approach to music, check out the “Sibelius Academy Music Resources.”

We invite you to take time to view the many artistic and musical offerings available in the "Art & Music" section of Useful Web Links.

4/ Reader's Advisory Highlight

Looking for more information on famous and not-so-famous literature? Do you want to delve deeper into a genre? Or do you simply want to read a good book? As a regular feature each month, we examine one page of our Reader=s Advisory. This month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we will explore our “Romance” links.

“Romance” is divided into four small categories. First we have General Sites, which includes “All About Romance,” a comprehensive site for novels, reviews, news and author information. “The Romance Reader” provides in-depth reviews and criticism of the romance genre. And if you have always aspired to pen your own romantic masterpiece, “Romancing the Web” provides research resources to assist in plotting and writing your story.

Romance readers are very passionate about their genre and love to read the online magazines devoted to their passion. “The Literary Times” provides resources for both writers and readers, including a wide set of links to authors, publishers, and women’s issues. An Author-of-the-Month is profiled on “The Romance Reader’s Connection” along with reviews and news. For an exhaustive database of authors and titles, there is no better place to visit than the “Romantic Times Magazine.”

If you wish to connect to other Romance readers, two organizations are listed on our web site. The “Beau Monde Regency” is dedicated to those who enjoy their novels set in the 19th Century. It even provides information on the food and drink of the period, plus the clothing and styles as well. “Romance Writers of America” is a non-profit association which provides valuable resources for the romance writer, along with annual awards to the best in the genre.

Finally, for those who believe that all romance should have a touch of magic, the Sub-genre section contains two sites. “Louisa’s Magical Romance Reading Web Site” lists stories and authors who inhabit their worlds with vampires, witches, time-travel, aliens, and other magical twists. “Paranormal Resources” offers monthly news and interviews with authors in this sub-genre, plus a set of annual awards for the best in magical romance.

So if you need a touch of love and intrigue in your reading, turn the page to the “Romance” section of Reader’s Advisory.

5/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

To find information about a local club or organization, look no further than our “INFORM” database, which we will profile next month.