By Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach County Library System
The Readers' Advisory committee at the Southwest County Regional Library in Boca Raton, Florida was very busy this summer. We took our Web 2.0 training to the next level and created a Florida Authors Wiki. Florida authors are popular not only in Florida, but worldwide and there hasn't been any definitive place for information—until now.
The Lee County Library has had a list of Florida authors on their website for years. We used their list as our jumping off point, but we wanted to know why those authors were included on that list. By adding more content via the wiki, we have created something that we hope is much more comprehensive and user friendly.
We have tried to be as inclusive as possible, but for now the wiki is limited to authors who have published books. Journalists and poets, for example, are included if they have written books, but not if they are only published in newspapers or journals. Our wiki currently includes any traditionally published author that is from Florida, has lived in Florida, writes about Florida or has books set in Florida.
We have as much relevant biographical information about each author as possible. We have tried to gather information such as birthplace, current residence, genre, and setting. We've included the author's website when available, as well as a bibliography of their work.
You will find a “Resources on the Web” page with links to the Palm Beach County Library System, the Florida Book Awards, and the many book fairs, events and writers' conferences that Florida offers. Using the wiki format, anyone can sign up and add content.
We hope you will check out our Florida Authors Wiki. Feedback is always appreciated, email us via the Wiki.