The Small Press Exchange is the most comprehensive online portal into the small press. Their mission is to provide publishers, librarians, booksellers, authors, and general book enthusiasts with the resources they need. Their users benefit from access to various tools and services.

The Small Press Exchange is an augmented social network formed with a number of questions in mind: Could writers and poets better strengthen their relationships through online communities by better connecting people to others with whom they share affinities? Could they do this so they can more effectively exchange information and self-organize? Could such a system help to redefine what it means to be a small press publisher today?

Thus, the Small Press Excange was built with the interest of the independent community in mind, in order to facilitate introductions between people who share affinities or complementary capabilities across social networks—it was intended to be a tool to help extend creativity among individuals and enhance collaboration among those who share a common interest.

The Small Press Exchange has three main objectives:

1. To create a system that enables more efficient and effective knowledge sharing between people across institutional, geographic, and social boundaries;
2. To establish a form of persistent online identity that supports the public commonalities and the values of the independent literary community; and,
3. To enhance the ability of poets and writers to form relationships and self-organize around shared interests in order to better engage in the creative process.

Check it out at www.smallpressexchange.com.

Keep them in mind when you have an announcement, event, or title to promote. If you care to register, you may submit your announcement automatically through a form at the site.

MyHalton.com is a new forum for Halton residents to share information and post comments about their respective communities.

What has impressed me most about MyHalton is, despite the fact that it is a young forum, knowledgable moderators ensure that virtually every posting had a response in a day or so.

This has enabled anyone to find Halton-specific information from others who live and work in the area. They share information fast with a lot of collaboration—every post or question that I came across had a minimum of one reply.

Comprehensive what’s on listings for Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Georgetown and Acton include theatre, arts, comedy, clubs, music, classes, special events and more! The site also provides a handy event calendar. All members are invited to post upcoming events.

Its aggregation system aggregates feeds from multiple sources, providing updated buy and sell listings from Craigslist, job postings from Randstad, news updates from the Burlington Post, Oakville Beaver and Milton Canadian Champion. The site’s format allows for quick and easy commentary and its small but active community is an encouraging one, eliciting viewpoints from both new and old members.

These aggregated listings provide the backbone for Halton’s largest and most visited free classifieds area. Categories include buy & sell listings, real estate, jobs, et al.

Restaurant reviews are provided by Menuism, making MyHalton the only source you need to find and recommend restaurants in Halton Region. Menus, restaurant guides, reviews and more are provided for Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Georgetown and Acton. You are also encouraged to post your own reviews, comments and criticisms.

The forum also provides an area for new or visiting residents. Whether you are considering Halton as a destination for your next vacation, to come as a tourist to one of the many Halton festivals, or are a visitor currently in the Halton area this forum is designed to provide a fun, user friendly way of discussing and discovering information!