Car maintenance guides are at your fingertips at the libraries | Life

Prince William Community Libraries’ Digital Library capabilities virtually 100 distinct databases, electronic platforms and streaming products and services, providing a extensive assortment of merchandise and products and services for an equally broad selection of interests. 

Motor vehicle fans and automotive mechanics alike have relied on their regional public library to deliver reference is effective on fixing and servicing of vehicles, vans and motorcycles. In the previous, the cabinets of reference sections bulged with diagram-and-logistics crammed manuals. For modern day library buyers needing to adjust a set of spark plugs or one thing far more tough, your library has a couple of on the net assets to fulfill your requirements.

For a long time, Chilton guides have been a staple for car or truck fanatics and mechanics, and libraries usually carried them. 

Chilton no lengthier publishes these guides, but for yrs they have provided the information and facts in their “ChiltonLibrary” subscription database, obtainable on our Electronic Library.

ChiltonLibrary presents restore, maintenance and diagnostic details on hundreds of vehicles by make, design, yr, motor dimension and other variables. For each car or truck, the databases offers tables for maintenance schedules, as nicely as specs for elements. The manuals are searchable, and diagrams can be printed.

The database also features a movie library with brief tutorials on critical car upkeep responsibilities, a VIN decoder to look at numbers and a library of examination prep quizzes for aspiring mechanics for the ASE Specialists Test. 

At last, an “Ask an Expert” feature allows patrons to submit inquiries to on-call employees experts, both by means of e-mail submission or a cellphone contact.

The library also provides the “ProDemand” from Mitchell 1, another longtime vehicle guide publisher. ProDemand is geared toward auto outlets and experts, which usually means that the details is extra in depth, and there are a lot more charts and diagrams for quite a few helps make and models. 

The database was also built for one use by a shop, so, unfortunately, the subscriptions are not accessible on the web, only onsite at any of our 12 branches.

You can entry the database at any community entry personal computer, identified as PACs, in the library. Click on “Log In” to get fast obtain no username or password is desired. 

Whilst ChiltonLibrary is in some approaches far more consumer-welcoming and has more attributes for severe car persons carrying out serious do the job, ProDemand is truly worth the extra problems. 

If you are an knowledgeable “gearhead” tackling a significant repair service or just a driver who would like to save a handful of dollars and have a tiny a lot more handle in excess of maintaining your car on the road, your neighborhood library has the digital support you need. Get begun at pwcva.gov/digitallibrary.

Kirk Johnson is a supervisor in the Prince William General public Libraries’ material products and services division.