The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ Interlibrary Loan
3/ Database of the Month – Palm Beach Post
4/ Independence Day Closings
5/ A Quick Byte – Adding a Shortcut
6/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the June issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will look at how to obtain books from other libraries through our Interlibrary Loan service. In addition, we will look at The Palm Beach Post archives in our Electronic Databases. Finally, “A Quick Byte” will feature a tip to assist you in your daily computer use.

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

2/ Interlibrary Loan

Have you ever visited your local library looking for a book, only to find that someone else has checked it out? Rather than running to your bookstore to buy it, did you know that library staff can bring the book in for you if we own it at another library? The Palm Beach County Library System is a collection of 14 libraries located across the county. With your library card, you can ask library staff to place holds on items located anywhere in the county system. Assuming there is no waiting list, the item will then be shipped to your local branch for pick-up in as little as three to five business days. You will receive a telephone call or e-mail message when the item is available.

When the materials you need are not available in the Palm Beach County Library System’s collection, you can request them through our Interlibrary Loan Service, known by its shorthand, ILL. Interlibrary Loan staff search for these materials and borrow them for you from other libraries in the country and sometimes from around the world. You can find the answers to most of the common ILL questions on our web site at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/ill.htm

Anyone who has a current Palm Beach County Library card and is in good standing (no unpaid fines or other charges, or overdue materials) can use this service. To be successful in our search for your materials we need to have specific information, such as the author, title, publisher, date of publication, journal or citation for photocopies or any other relevant information about the material. The average time to obtain the materials is one to four weeks. The time it takes depends on availability of the materials requested, location of the library that owns the materials, and the type of delivery.

You may request books, photocopies of journal, magazine and newspaper articles, microfilms, various types of materials ranging from archival to modern, fiction to serious research, and special collections materials. There are some non-circulating items that we cannot borrow, but if you wish to travel, we can tell you where they are located.

So the next time you need an item, but the library system does not own it, why not try our Interlibrary Loan service. Information about this service can be found at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/ill.htm

3/ Database of the Month – The Palm Beach Post

Most people are aware that they can find old copies of The Palm Beach Post on microfilm at the library. However, did you know that you can access articles from The Post as far back as 1989 through our web site from the comfort of your own home? The Library System offers access to The Palm Beach Post archives on our Electronic Databases page:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/edb/patronlinks.asp

The Palm Beach Post archives provide selected full-text content of local and regional news from 1989 to present. Searching The Post’s archives is straightforward. Type the keywords that best match what you are looking for into the search box, and then select whether you want the most recent articles first or simply the best matches. You have the option to limit the results to the last 3, 6, or 12 months. For example, a search for information on the Scripps Research Institute in the last 12 months produces 200 articles, dealing with such topics as road construction in the northern parts of the county, political issues about control of the new Biotech Research Park, and debates over the total cost of this massive project. Articles can be printed off using your web browser’s print command or they can be emailed to friends and colleagues.

We invite you to locate past Palm Beach Post articles through our Electronic Databases page at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/edb/patronlinks.asp

4/ Libraries Closed for Independence Day

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will be closed on Sunday, July 4, and Monday, July 5 for Independence Day. No materials will be due on these days.

All Library System locations will open for their regular hours on Tuesday, July 6.

5/ A Quick Byte – Adding a Shortcut

Have you ever wanted to add a shortcut to your Windows Desktop, but been confused about how to do it? Well, don’t fret. It is very easy to add a program shortcut using the latest Windows operating systems, such as Windows 2000, ME, and XP. To begin, locate the program you wish to add on the Windows start menu. Once you have found it, right-click on the program to open an option menu. From here, highlight the option “Send To” which will open a new menu. In this new menu, select “Desktop” (create shortcut). In only a second or two, a brand new icon will appear on the Desktop as a shortcut to your favorite program. Follow these steps to make any program a double-click away!

6/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

We will profile our Adult Literacy Project, where we match tutors with adults who are learning to read. We will also examine Novelist in our Electronic Databases.