ChiltonLibrary: Highly Recommended and “Makes Users Happy”

Chilton Auto

Tune up your patron’s auto repair know-how!

For reliable car repair information, turn to Chilton, the car-care experts for more than 100 years. Find the most up-to-date coverage for almost every year, make, and model. Only available online! 

  • Save time and money with do-it-yourself car repairs
  • Access 24/7 from library, home or on-the-go
  • Look up recalls and service bulletins
  • Find estimated labor time
  • Prepare for ASE mechanic certification with test prep quizzes

In April, both Library Journal and Booklist reviewed ChiltonLibrary. Read what they had to say! 

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The History of Transcontinental Travel Part 2: Wheels and Wings

Chilton DIY

By Ryan Price

In October of 1893, General Roy Stone, a Civil War hero and roads advocate, was appointed to be in charge of the new Office of Road Inquiry (ORI) within the Department of Agriculture. With a budget of $10,000, ORI promoted new rural road development to serve the wagons, coaches, and bicycles on America’s dirt roads.

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It’s All about Horsepower for Gearhead Patrons

Chilton Auto Resources at Library

By Ryan Lee Price

The 305 cubic-inch engine in the Koenigsegg One “megacar” is capable of producing 1,360 horsepower from its gas-powered V8, propelling the 1,360-kg car to a top speed of 280 mph in 20 seconds. That’s a lot of power, and one can’t help but to imagine 1,360 horses hitched to the front of the $1.5 million car attempting to pull it up to 280 mph. However, in either guise—engine or horse team—1,360 horsepower represents the work of a lot of horses, and to understand how the term has been applied to cars, we have to go back about 100 years before cars were even invented.

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ChiltonLibrary Delivers Amazing New Features for DIYers & Pros

ASE Sample Tests and Labor Estimator Tool Now Available to Your Library Customers!

The ASE Technician Sample Tests available in ChiltonLibrary.com are short sample tests which provide a high-level assessment of overall readiness to pass an ASE certification exam. Patrons will gain a better understanding of their strengths and areas needing additional review. According to the National Institute for Automotive Excellence more than 300,000 automotive professionals nationwide have earned the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence and must renew their certification every 5 years. Tests may be taken any number of times.

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The History of Transcontinental Travel: The Unknown Horizon

American Progress, by John Gast, 1872. Chromolithograph published by George A. Crofutt. Source: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

By Ryan Price

John Gast was a painter based in Brooklyn when he was commissioned to paint this picture for George Crofutt, a publisher of a popular series of western travel guides. The images Gast put to canvas represent a historical timeline of transportation technologies up until 1872 when the painting was completed. The Indian travois, the covered wagons, Pony Express, overland stage and the three railroad lines are not only progressively pushing one another forward (from East to West) but also driving the indigenous inhabitants — buffalo, bear and Native Americans — almost literally off of the painting. In the wake of this expansion are the tall ships in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Columbia (a personification of the United States) guides the way, holding a schoolbook in one hand while stringing telegraph wire with the other. The imagery is a vivid and dynamic telling of not only the history of westward expansion but the future of it as well.

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