The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

Contents:
1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ The Friends of the Library
3/ Useful Web Links Section Highlight – “Words” Links
4/ Reader's Advisory Section Highlight – Multicultural Writers
5/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the November issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will profile the Friends of the Library. This will be followed by an exploration of the “Words” category in Useful Web Links. We will also examine the Multicultural Writers section in our Reader's Advisory.

Before moving on to the rest of this issue, we want to pass along our gratitude to the voters of the Palm Beach County Library District. The Library Expansion program was passed on the November 5 ballot with nearly 69% approval. We are honored by your support and look forward to increasing and improving library service in Palm Beach County over the next decade.

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

2/ Friends of the Library

Do you love your library? Do you believe a high quality library is a necessity for your community? Are you interested in helping your library be the best it can be? If so, we ask that you consider becoming a Friend.

The Friends of the Library is a dedicated group of volunteers who donate their time and money to support the Library System. They help to focus public attention on library services, facilities and needs; and to stimulate gifts of books, magazines, desirable collections, endowments, and bequests. Friends members are kept well-informed in order to communicate news to the County Commission and State Legislature about library programs, progress, and needs.

This year, the Friends supplied over one thousand copies of the book “Fahrenheit 451” for the Read Together Palm Beach County campaign. They also played an active role in getting out the word about the Library Expansion Program. Again this year they are sponsoring the “Family Portraits” Book Discussion Series. In addition to these major projects, the Friends have been active in every library throughout the year.

The Board of Directors meets on the fourth Thursday of each month; all members are welcome to attend. The Friends had their annual meeting this month. It was a chance for the Friends to come together to elect new officers, evaluate the year that passed, and look forward to the future. We are proud to announce the following list of officers for 2003:

President: Betty Bell
Vice-President: Thalia Becak
Treasurer: Simone Hebert
Membership Chairperson: Joyce Smith

We also want to take a moment to honor outgoing President Marvin Stevens. Marvin led the Friends for over ten years and will remain on the Executive Board as a Past President.

Annual Friends membership begins at $10; Family membership is $20 per year. All contributions and dues are tax deductible. Happenings, our monthly newsletter and calendar of library events, is mailed to all members. To confirm date and times of meetings, call 233-2767. To leave a message for the Friends, call 233-2765.

To download a Friends of the Library Application Form
http://www.pbclibrary.org/membership_form.htm

Look for more information on the Friends of the Library at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/friends.htm

3/ Useful Web Links

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 recommend web sites for each topic.

Are you tracking down a good poem to write in your holiday cards? Do you need to know the correct spelling of a confusing word? Perhaps you are looking for award winning literature? The solution to these problems can be found in the “Words” section of Useful Web Links.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm

The “Words” section of Useful Web Links is divided into four sections: Databases, Language, Literature, and Biography. Below is a sample of the sites you can find.

Databases - http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm#Databases

Literature Resource Center - GaleNet
Provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and literary criticism of authors from every age and literary discipline. A valid library card number is needed to access this database from home.

Novelist
An electronic readers’ advisory resource which assists fiction readers in finding new authors and titles. A valid library card number is needed to access this database from home.

PoemFinder
An index to 750,00 poems including full-text of over 70,000 titles. A valid library card number is needed to access this database from home.

StoryFinder
Provides full-text of thousands of short stories plus explanations, biographies, pictures, and more. A valid library card number is needed to access this database from home.

Language - http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm#Language

Animated American Sign Language Dictionary
”Animated" lessons in sign languages and links to relevant to ASL and Deaf culture.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Searches for quotes by keyword from listed authors, Shakespeare's plays, and the Bible.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World
The electronic version of the Ethnologue, the Ethnologue Language Name Index, and the Ethnologue Language Family Index, with information on 6,703 languages.

Guide to Grammar & Writing
Almost everything you need to know about English grammar, about writing and formatting research papers and essays, and about improving your writing style. Take quizzes to test your knowledge.

iLoveLanguages
More than 2,000 links to language-related web sites. Language lessons, translation dictionaries, native literatures and almost anything relevant to human languages.

OneLook Dictionaries
Search over 500 online dictionaries with over 2,800,000 words from this one web site.

Roget's Thesaurus
The University of Chicago's searchable public domain thesaurus.

Travlang's Foreign Languages for Travelers
Select the language you speak and the language you wish to learn. Then read or listen to words and phrases most frequently used by travelers. Covers more than 70 languages.

yourDictionary.com
Has links to over 1,800 dictionaries for more than 250 languages and in 90 specialty areas including medicine, law, finance, sports, thesauri and rhyming. Links to numerous sites on linguistics, writing systems, endangered languages and to an archive of articles.

Literature - http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm#Literature

The Academy of American Poets
Biographies and photos of over 200 poets; collection of nearly 1,000 poems; "Listening Booth" of poems, many read by the author; poetry awards and exhibits.

Bartleby.com: Great Books
Online Searchable database containing the full-text of fiction, nonfiction and reference books and poetry, including all 70 volumes of The Harvard Classics & Shelf of Fiction, free of charge.

Bookwire
Find more than 5,000 links to book and publishing sites. Explore on your own, or use the Google search engine.

Gale Literary Index
A searchable index to the various criticism series found in many libraries.

Glossary of Poetic Terms
Features phonetic pronunciations, definitions, examples, poetic quotations, writers guidelines and links to other useful poetry sites.

Librarians' Index to the Internet/Literature and Books
User friendly guide and links to hundreds of sites from "Apocalyptic Literature" to "Young Adult Literature" and 47 other categories. Evaluated and monitored by librarians.

Literary Award Database
Lists the nominees and winners for 29 literary, mystery and science fiction awards for current and past years.

Overbooked
Web site for "ravenous readers." Has links to authors' web pages, annotated reading lists of books which received starred reviews, reading lists by theme and genre, lists of new and "hot" fiction, reviews.

Biography - http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm#bio

Biographical Dictionary
A searchable biographical dictionary of over 25,000 individuals.

Dead People Server
Living and Dead Celebrities: tries to answer the question, "isn't he dead, already?"

Find A Grave
A searchable database with over 3 million graves, including many celebrity sites.

Lives, the Biography Resource
Claims to be "the largest guide to biography sites on the Web." Has links to biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, letters, narratives, and oral histories. Choose an individual name, or "group biographies about people who share a common profession, historical era or geography."

To visit these great sites and others, drop by the “Words” section of Useful Web Links at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/links-words.htm

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, we will explore Multicultural Writers section.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/read-multi.htm

Multicultural Writers explores the lives and works of writers from different cultures from both inside the United States and around the world. Below is a sample of some of the sites to which we link.

African American Literature Online
The purpose of this web site is to provide readers with a comprehensive guide to African American Literature from the Twentieth Century. Here, you will find over 75 novels, poems, autobiographies, and essays along with summaries of the selected literature.

African American Mystery Writers
This site contains a bibliography of African American mystery writers with links to Bookbrowser reviews.

Asian American Bookreview
This site deals with a multitude of topics that concern Asian Americans. The "bookview" section is broken down into fiction, nonfiction, memoirs and kid's books.

Guide to Hispanic Literature on the Web
The South Texas Community College directory of links to Hispanic writers and reviews.

Index of Latin and South American Literature
Reviews of books and essays produced by famous authors from Central and South America.

Native American Authors
This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites.

Voices from the Gap - Women Writers of Color
An instructional web site focusing on the lives and works of North American women writers of color.

To explore different viewpoints of the world, take a look at the “Multicultural Writers” section of Reader’s Advisory:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/read-multi.htm

5/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

In next month’s issue, we will profile the new look of our Library Locations pages, where you can learn more about your local library, including directions, photos, computing resources and more.

6/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

In next month’s issue we will profile a new service – eBooks @ your library. It is a free collection of online books available to you at home.