Bookletters update

It was two years ago this July when the Birmingham Public Library introduced its newest product for booklovers: Bookletters. Bookletters is a smorgasbord of new fiction and non-fiction books and reviews, author bios and interviews, book group discussion guides, and even audio clips, all easily accessible online.

The best part of Bookletters is Newsletters, a sign-up feature that allows you to select from 30 different genres and categories to have the newest titles delivered monthly right to your inbox . You may subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. If a book interests you, reserving it is just a few clicks away.

Let me take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of the work that goes into these Newsletters. Staff at Bookletters and BPL scour publishing journals and websites for the latest titles, which are then plugged into each Newsletter. Included in each Newsletter is a picture of the cover art, a description of the book and often a review, and direct links to our catalog for every title and author. The Newsletters are then published and sent straight to you via email. We do the research so you won't have to.

Bookletters has added some great new features since its 2005 introduction:

• Along with the Book Club Choices Newsletter, there is now a Book Discussion Guide Database of alphabetical listings that include reviews and some excellent questions to get the party started and the discussion flowing freely
• A Browse and Search feature that allows you to “look inside” a book and read up to 40 pages from a screen presentation
• BBC audio clips on selected titles

• feed that sends Newsletters to your desktop

So, help us celebrate a successful two years with Bookletters by logging on, signing up and checking out what's new.