During the month of September, you can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, enter to win a yard makeover, participate in a fossil dig, hear a poetry reading, or enter the Get Real @ your library: Movin' On Teen Read Week Art and Poetry Contest.

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Click here to download a .pdf version of our monthly magazine, Bookings. Read about the new Northwest Branch Library Dedication, Hispanic Heritage Month, NatureScape Broward and Teen Read Week. You can also view our programs and events or find a computer class at a library near you.

This month, Broward County Library will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, with more than 60 programs for children and adults including programs that will honor the 400th anniversary of the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

Click here to download a .pdf version of our Hispanic Heritage Month brochure listing all of our programs, events and films.

Attend a free poetry reading with Brenda Williams, author of The Metamorphosis of A Great King, a two-act play dedicated to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the following Wednesdays, September 28, December 14 and March 22 at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Party in the park this month with free books, live entertainment, crafts, food and fun. Celebrate reading on Saturday, September 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) and Delevoe Park where there will be storytelling, performances, authors, live costumed characters, and a book giveaway. Reading Across Broward, a reading motivation project of Dr. Frank Till, Superintendent of Broward County Schools, marks its twentieth anniversary with 60,264 participants in 2004-2005.

Meet the Author at North Regional/BCC Library

Make plans to come meet Lucía M. González, the author of The Bossy Gallito, on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the kick-off of Kids Learn to Speak Spanish @ your library. The author, storyteller and Broward County Library's Associate Director for Youth Services will be available to sign copies of her book.

Please preregister by calling 954-201-2626. The North Regional/BCC Library is located at 1100 Coconut Creek Blvd. in Coconut Creek.

If you're creative, let us know - Broward County Library is holding a Teen Read Week Art and Poetry contest, and it's open until October 8 to anyone age 12 to 19.

Enter your best poem - in English, Spanish or Creole - or a visual art piece (photo, drawing or painting) and you could be a winner. The theme this year is Movin' On: Get Real @Your Library, encouraging teens to explore the world of nonfiction books, such as biographies, self-help books, strange but true stories and more.

The winning entries will be displayed on boards in Broward County buses and the winners will be honored at a reception on October 22 at Main Library that will feature food, fun and live entertainment.

All works must be original, and a parent or guardian must sign applications for anyone under 18. Since the winners will be displayed on the bus boards, make sure visual art can fit in a 10" x 27" horizontal rectangle.

For more information, visit your Broward County Library Youth Services section, pick up the September copy of Bookings, or visit www.broward.org/library.

On Saturday, September 10 from 2 to 4 p.m., take a journey back in time with Ed Casis from the Archaeology and Paleontology Education Society in Room 8 A & B in the Main Library. Ages 9 to 12 can hear storytelling, see real artifacts and participate in a fossil dig. Plus, you can win prizes!

The Main Library is located at 100 South Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, please call 954-357-7504.

This month, enter to win a Florida-friendly redesign for your yard. The contest, open from September 1 - 30, will offer one winner a NatureScape Makeover. NatureScape showcases nature and environment sensitive methods to conserve water, reduce pollution, and beautify your surroundings, including the creation of a habitat designed to attract birds and butterflies and the use of native plants and shade trees.

Enter by visiting www.broward.org/naturescape, or bring your entry to any Broward County Library location. Submit your completed application form along with videotapes, photos or drawings of your yard and a description (100 words or less) of why your yard deserves a makeover. The winner will be announced in November and the makeover will begin in January.

The Friends of the Pembroke Pines Library are sponsoring an essay/art contest, open to all elementary, middle and high school students. The topic is What the Library Means to Me. The essays are limited to 250 words and the size of the artwork should be 8.5 x 11 inches or larger. Entries must be submitted to the Pembroke Pines Branch no later than Friday, September 9 at 4 p.m.

The Enduring Appeal of Romance Novels - Why We Read Them and Why We Choose to Write Them

Attend a candid, intimate chat with five published authors who take intense excitement and romance to a whole new level: Nancy Cohen, Jennifer Conover, Karen Kendall, Kathleen Pickering and Cynthia Thomason.

The discussion will take place on Thursday, September 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Main Library Bienes Center on the 6th floor. For more information, please call 954-357-7443.

Broward County's Main Library

Broward County Main Library, located in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, opened in 1984, a symbol of resurgence of business, government and cultural activity in the downtown area. This modernistic concrete and glass structure houses hundreds of thousands of books, magazines, CDs, videos, and DVDs as well as public computers and countless free educational, cultural and recreational programs for children and adults.

Inside, you'll find myriad resources: the first floor houses the Community Technology Center, the Cultural Information Center, the Talking Book Library, and a 300-seat auditorium. On the second floor you'll find the Youth Services and AV/Popular Library sections, as well as the circulation desk, the ArtServe Gallery and Gift Shop and the Charcuterie Too! restaurant. Reference and circulating books are located on the third and fourth floors, government documents and small business resources on the fifth, while the sixth floor contains the Bienes Center for Literary Arts, the Florida Center for the Book, and offices for the Broward County Cultural Division. Administrative offices and meeting rooms are located on the seventh and eighth floors.

Popular annual events at Main Library include the night of Literary Feasts, the Children's Reading Festival, and the Teen Read Week Reception.

Click here to view information online about Broward County's Main Library.

Click here to download a .pdf fact sheet for Main Library.

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

Did you know more than 200 Broward County Library staff members speak or understand two or more languages? Six staff members speak Creole, 12 speak Portuguese, 21 speak French and 81 speak Spanish.

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