The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

Contents:
1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ Special Services
3/ Live Homework Help Online
4/ Labor Day Closing
5/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the August issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will look at the “Special Services” section of the web site. In addition, we are excited to profile “Live Homework Help Online,” a new service for students in Palm Beach County. Finally, we will provide notice of a holiday closing in September.

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

2/ Special Services

The library is more than buildings and books. We offer many great services to the residents of Palm Beach County outside the library’s walls. In particular, we reach out to those for whom access to library branches may be limited for a variety of reasons, including age, disability, lack of transportation, or distance from a branch library. Special Services contains information about all these great outreach offerings for the residents of Palm Beach County.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/services.htm

The Adult Literacy Project offers you an opportunity to become part of the solution to illiteracy. We recruit and train volunteer reading tutors to work with English-speaking adults who read and write below a 5th grade level. No teaching experience is required. We offer free, ten-hour Laubach tutor training workshops and provide all of the necessary materials you will need to help English-speaking adults learn to read and write.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/outreach-literacy.htm

The Special Services section also contains a link to Interlibrary Loan (ILL). When the materials you need are not available in the Palm Beach County Library System, the reference staff can help you request these materials through ILL. Interlibrary Loan staff will search the availability of the materials in other libraries worldwide, and borrow these materials for you.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/ill.htm

The Palm Beach County Library System also provides special services for residents who have physical disabilities which may prevent them from visiting a library, or using regular library materials. These services include Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD), DVDs and videos, and Email Reference for the hearing impaired; and Talking Books and Described Videos for those people who are visually impaired.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/outreach-disabled.htm

Senior citizens are active library users. At the library, we have many great programs and services for seniors. This page contains information about library services and also a collection of links to great Internet resources.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/seniors.htm

The library system reaches out beyond our branches into the community with a variety of different programs. Some of the library services that occur outside of our branch locations include the Bookmobile, Books-By-Mail, E-mail Reference, Service to Day Cares, and Service to Institutions. Read more about these services at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/outreach-outside.htm

The Bookmobile brings the library to your neighborhood with a collection of over 2,000 books. Browse through adult and children's books, fiction and nonfiction, regular and large-print and baby books to best sellers. The resources of the entire Library System are available to every Bookmobile user. Staff will be happy to help you locate books not on the Bookmobile or find answers to your reference questions. View the current schedule at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/bookmobile.htm

Inform is a database of non-profit services, recreational and social clubs and other organizations in Palm Beach County. Each entry in the database lists the name of the club or organization, the contact person, address, phone number, and a brief description of the functions and purposes of the organization. Start searching Inform at:
http://wpalmb.pbclibrary.org/db/inform/inform-kwd.html

We invite you to explore the “Special Services” section of our web site to learn more about these great programs.
http://www.pbclibrary.org/services.htm

3/ Live Homework Help Online

Now students can get free homework help online from qualified tutors through the Palm Beach County Library System! Access Live Homework Help Online through our web site at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/youth.htm

Children and young adults in Palm Beach County never have to be stumped by a tough homework assignment again! Kids and teens from 4th to 12th grade can simply visit any Palm Beach County Library System branch to get immediate help from qualified tutors online. Live Homework Help Online connects students to expert tutors in math, science, social studies and English via the Internet.

Live Homework Help is simple to use. Simply log on to Internet-accessible computer terminals, enter your grade level and the subject you need help in. Students are immediately connected to a tutor in an online classroom for up to 20 minutes of help. Students can also access the service without coming to the library: you just log on to http://www.pbclibrary.org/youth.htm, enter your Palm Beach County Library System library card number and connect to a tutor.

Students and tutors can review specific homework questions using features such an interactive white board and shared Web browsing. Both tutors and students can type math equations using a special math tool, share educational Web sites using a shared browser tool and do much more for a rewarding learning experience. The tutors are certified teachers, college professors, professional tutors, and graduate school students from across the country. They love to teach and share their knowledge online.

The service is available Sunday – Thursday from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. Live Homework Help en Español offers students the opportunity seek help in math or science from Spanish-speaking tutors Monday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Take advantage of this free service at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/youth.htm

4/ Holiday Closing

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will be closed on Monday, September 1, in observance of Labor Day. No materials will be due on that day. All library locations will reopen on Tuesday, September 2, at their regular hours.

5/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

Next month, we will learn more about our branches and hours. We will look at our “About the Library” section, and provide an overview of the newest databases in our Electronic Databases collection.

Books & Bytes is published on the third Monday of each month.

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