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thelibrary.org Springfield-Greene County Library District Springfield, Missouri

Need Help with Mower or Car Repair? The Library Can Help

May 5, 2014 — Warm weather is finally here, and it’s time to dust off your tools and get that car, outboard motor or lawn mower running again. If you are not sure where to start or just want to be sure you get all those parts and wires back in the right place, the Springfield-Greene County Libraries can help.

The Library has two main sources of automotive repair information – an online database and a collection of printed manuals.

The online database is called Auto Repair Reference Center and is accessible at any library branch or, if you have a library card, through our website, thelibrary.org/automotive. It covers over 37,000 vehicles from 1954 to the present.

The database leads you to information about your vehicle by asking for: year, make, model, and engine size/body style. You then have the option of viewing, downloading or printing repair information, wiring diagrams, service bulletins, recall information, labor times and other useful information.

The Library's print collection contains over 4,000 repair manuals, most of which may be checked out. The main collection is housed at the Library Station, but materials can be delivered to any of the 10 branches or Mobile Library in just a few days. The most detailed information is in shop manuals from the actual car companies (Ford, GM, etc.) which cover domestic cars and trucks from 1908 to about 1990. More recent vehicles, including imports, can be found in our collection of paperback Chilton and Haynes manuals.

In addition to cars and trucks, the Library’s collection includes repair manuals for motorcycles, ATVs, farm tractors, boat motors, personal watercraft, lawn and garden equipment and small engines.

You can search for manuals in the Library catalog at http://coolcat.org. The easiest way is to enter the model name, (ex. Corvette) as a keyword search. You can then limit the search to show only repair manuals by clicking the "Modify Search" button and selecting Material Type: Repair Manuals.

Don’t hesitate to ask library staff for help. We may not be expert mechanics, but we will be happy to help you find the information you need.


PRESS CONTACTS

Vickie Hicks
Community Relations Director
vickieh@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0564
Morgan Shannon
Copywriter
morgans@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0566

Find this article at http://thelibrary.org/press/article.cfm?aid=3266


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