During the month of August, you can get free homework help, donate a teddy bear, meet both Clifford the Big Reg Dog and the author of Cubanita, or nominate your favorite book for the Quill Awards. There is always something to do at your Broward County Library!

If you are unable to view the images, click here to view the E-Newsletter online.

Our Monthly Magazine

Click here to download a .pdf version of our monthly magazine, Bookings. Read about the NatureScape Broward Program, the Friends of Broward County Libraries Luncheon, the Carribbean Women and their Role in Slave Emancipation, The New York Times Librarian Awards, and the Quills Awards. You can also view our programs and events or find a computer class at a branch near you.

Free Online Homework Help

Broward etutor offers free online homework help to students in grade 4 through the first year of college. This service is available at all Broward County Library locations. Plus this service is available from any computer with Internet access.

Broward etutor is available seven days a week from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The subjects include math, science, social studies, and English.

Additionally, for assistance by Spanish speaking tutors in math and science, the service is available Sunday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Click here to access Broward etutor. For access outside of any library location, you will need your Broward County Library card number.

Preschoolers Open New Library

On Tuesday, July 19, a group of preschoolers helped open the new Northwest Branch Library in Pompano Beach by participating in an exciting ribbon-pulling ceremony.

Improvements to the Northwest Branch include increasing the square footage from 4,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet, adding 13 additional public computers, and enhancing the number of staff.

The library also has a 100-seat meeting room as well as a shelving capacity for 30,000 items. The entrance frames the public art sculpted image, History Quilt, designed by Leslie Fry.

The new Northwest Branch located at 1580 NW 3 Avenue in Pompano Beach.

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the ceremony.

Clifford the Big Red Dog Visits Broward County Library

Make plans to come out and meet Clifford the Big Red Dog as he makes four special appearances at Broward County Library, courtesy of the presenting sponsor Target and Young at Art. You've read his books and seen him on T.V. - now you have the opportunity to see him live. He'll be heading to these locations soon, and he's looking forward to meeting you and shaking paws!

Saturday, August 6 from 2 to 3 p.m.
West Regional Library
8601 West Broward Boulevard
Plantation, FL 33324
Main Telephone: 954-831-3300
Youth Services Section Telephone: 954-831-3318

Saturday, August 13 from 2 to 3 p.m.
Main Library
100 South Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Main Telephone: 954-357-7444
Youth Services Section Telephone: 954-357-7504

Saturday, August 27 from 1 to 2 p.m.
Pembroke Pines Branch/Walter C. Young Resource Center
955 NW 129 Avenue
Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
Main Telephone: 954-437-2635
Youth Services Section Telephone: 954-437-2635

Tuesday, September 6 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Sunrise Dan Pearl Branch
10500 West Oakland Park Boulevard
Sunrise, FL 33351
Main Telephone: 954-749-2521
Youth Services Section Telephone: 954-749-2521

"Bearly" Used Teddy Bears Needed

Donate your gently-loved, like-new plush bears to the Books 'n' Bears at the Holidays program. That adorable teddy bear, gathering dust on a shelf in your home, could bring a sparkle to the eyes of a toddler this December. Broward County Library and the Broward Public Library Foundation are collecting clean, soft and gently-loved bears to give to disadvantaged preschoolers.

Please drop off your teddy bears at the Youth Services section of any Broward County Library. We'll be sure they find a new home!

For more information, please call 954-357-7406.

Recognize the Top Librarian in Your Life with the New York Times 2005 Librarian Awards

If you know a librarian who goes above and beyond, don't hesitate - nominate. The New York Times is currently taking applications for their 2005 Librarian Awards, open to all fully accredited librarians currently working in a public library. The New York Times, long a supporter and advocate of literacy, offers this annual contest to honor public librarians and to recognize those librarians who consistently demonstrate the highest level of professionalism, knowledge and public service.

To download a .pdf version of the application, please click here.

Writing Workshop with Kitty Oliver at African-American Library

Calling all writers: Isn't it time to capture those wonderful memories of older family members before it's too late? How about telling the story of your church, organization or business through the stories of the people who made it possible? Maybe you want to capture the special cultural characteristics of your ethnic or immigrant community. Or, perhaps you have your own personal story that you have been longing to write.

If so, join author, oral historian and writing professor Kitty Oliver for an informative, free Lift Every Voice workshop on oral history and autobiographical writing from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC), 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Learn how to use professional oral history techniques to preserve memories for posterity and ways to write your own personal story in a readable, creative, sellable way.

For more information about this workshop, please contact 954-625-2819.

Consumer's Choice: The Quills Primer Contests Lets Readers Choose

The Quills, an initiative sponsored by Reed Business Information, is launching a new set of book awards that will celebrate current book titles that readers deem most enlightening and entertaining. Not just another literary award, The Quills will be to books what the Oscars are to movies, celebrating the best books in a dozen popular categories, such as romance, biography and graphic novel as well awards for best film adaptation of a book, best cover, and best book club title.

For more information, please click here to visit Florida Center for the Book.

Gaby Triana, author of the coming-of-age novel Cubanita, will talk about her book at 6:30 p.m. on August 30 at the Southwest Regional Library, 16835 Sheridan Street in Pembroke Pines.

In this young adult novel, 17-year-old Cuban-American Isabel Días struggles in a relationship with her hovering, overanxious "Mami," while looking forward to a "mother-free" life in college. This fast-paced comic romance is also a telling story of a teen discovering her cultural roots.

Gaby Triana is the author of another young adult novel, Backstage Pass. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, she is a former elementary school teacher.

During the library program, Triana's book will be available for sale and signing.
The free event is sponsored by American Express and First Data/Western Union Foundation through the Broward Public Library Foundation Newcomers/New Americans Program Series.

For more information, call 954-357-7403.

Important Telephone Numbers and Web Addresses (Please click on the blue links to access the corresponding web pages)

Renew Materials: 954-357-RENU (7368)

Information and Reference at the Main Library: 954-357-7444

Youth Services Administration: 954-357-7336

Outreach Services Administration: 954-357-7348

Library Administration: 954-357-7397

Talking Books: 954-357-7555

Learning Services (Literacy Programs): 954-357-8211

Ask a Librarian

Florida Center for the Book: 954-357-7401

Bienes Center for the Literary Arts: 954-357-8692

Broward County Library

Broward Public Library Foundation: 954-357-7382

Online Resources

New Movies in Collection - .pdf version

Did You Know

Did you know in June of 2005, 95,000 individual computers accessed the library's home page, www.broward.org/library, viewing over 900,000 pages of information?

Click here to search the catalog for a book, DVD, audio book, or anything else in the Library's collection.