The Electronic Newsletter of the Palm Beach County Library System

Contents:
1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes
2/ CHIS – Mental Health
3/ Database of the Month – New York Times Magazine
4/ A Quick Byte – Setting Your Home Page
5/ Library Holiday Closings
6/ In Next Month's Issue

1/ Introduction to Books & Bytes

Welcome to the December issue of Books & Bytes. This month we will tell you how to find information on mental health in our Community Health Information Service. In addition, we will show you how to access The New York Times Magazine in our Electronic Databases. Finally, “A Quick Byte” will show you how to set your browser’s home page.

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

2/ CHIS - Mental Health

If you are looking for up-to-date, unbiased health information, look no further than the Community Health Information Service (CHIS) of the Palm Beach County Library System. In addition to telephone and e-mail research services, CHIS provides an excellent web directory that links users to the best health web sites online today. In this issue, we will show you how to find information on mental health:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/health-mental_health.htm

The mental health page is divided into three parts: Coping, General Overview, and Resources.

The Coping section contains sites that provide links to mental health facilities and resources, along with medications and links to paying for mental health services.

The General Overview section contains information from the Mayo Clinic and MedlinePlus. It allows you to find general information on mental health topics and conditions.

The Resources section provides information on finding the mental health resources that are right for you, plus links to crisis centers.

Note: all the links provided on this page are to free, high-quality web sites. So when you want to find good sites on mental health, take a look at the Community Health Information Service:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/health-mental_health.htm

3/ Database of the Month – New York Times Magazine

The New York Times has long been a preeminent newspaper in the United States. The library has been proud to offer access to it for many years. Now, access to The New York Times has expanded due to the many different databases available. This month we feature The New York Times Magazine, which can be found through our Electronic Databases pages located on our web site at:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/edb/ss2004_new_york_times.asp

The online version of The New York Times Magazine is an exact digital reproduction of the weekly printed edition. All pages, including advertising, photos, and graphics are included. It is available for viewing in the library and at home. Be sure to have your library card handy if you want to view it from home, as you will be asked to enter your number.

To see the magazine, a special plug-in called iBrowse will activate. Depending on your connection, it may take a minute or so for the issue to load. Once on your screen, you will be able to leaf through the pages of the supplement, zoom in and out on a page, or even search the magazine for a particular word or phrase. You may even print pages that you wish to keep on hand.

It may take a little bit of time to become comfortable with the interface, but it is well worth the effort. The pages have been beautifully scanned in with a high-quality of detail, not to mention the access to the award-winning content.

We will profile different New York Times databases in great detail in future issues. For now, simply visit them on our Electronic Databases page to experience them yourself:
http://www.pbclibrary.org/edb/ss2004_new_york_times.asp

4/ A Quick Byte – Setting Your Home Page

You have the ability to set any web page as your browser’s home page. The browser’s home page is simply the web page where you start your Internet journeys. Here’s how you do it in Internet Explorer: First, go to the web page you want as your home page, then click on “Tools” in the browser’s top toolbar. Select “Internet Options” at the bottom of this menu. In the new window that opens up, the top part will have a small section to select your home page. Click on the “Use Current” button to change your home page to the current page. Then click “Ok” at the bottom of this window. Then congratulate yourself for setting your new home page!

5/ Library Holiday Closings

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will be closed on Friday, December 23. and remain closed on Saturday, December 24, and Sunday, December 25, in observance of the holidays. No materials will be due on these days. All libraries will reopen on Monday, December 26.

All Palm Beach County Library System locations will be closed on Sunday, January 1, 2005, and Monday, January 2, 2006, for New Year’s Day. No materials will be due on these days.

6/ Next Month in Books & Bytes

Next month we will be launching a new enhanced version of this newsletter. Plus we will be offering additional newsletters for you. Stay tuned for these exciting developments in the new year.

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

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Please direct any questions or comments about Books & Bytes to: webmaster@pbclibrary.org

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Webmaster, Palm Beach County Library System, 3650 Summit Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL, 33406