Tag: databases

Hidden Database Gems: Chilton Auto Repair

- Callen Leave a comment

Once upon a time, there were big fat books in the library with CHILTON written on the side. You could come into the library and use these books to find any information you might need about repairing or maintaining your vehicle. Sadly, due to changes in publishing and library budgets, not many of these books are still on library shelves. But never fear, that information is not gone, it’s just moved online!

Your library card gets you free access to the Chilton Auto Repair database where all that repair and maintenance information is recorded and easily accessible. Here’s how it works: first, from our website, look under Research Tools and click on Online Resources.

Scroll down this list to the “C”s, and click on Chilton Auto Repair. You may be asked to enter your library card number. Once you’ve logged in, the homepage will look like this:

Select your vehicle by year, make, and model and click Select. Then choose what category of information you’re looking for: Repair, Maintenance, Labor Estimating, or Bulletins/Recalls. From here, you can continue to narrow down the categories until you find the information you’re looking for.

This database is very useful because it includes not only downloadable and printable diagrams but also step-by-step repair procedures, a labor estimating tool, and ASE test prep quizzes for popular certification exams. If you’re looking for robust vehicle repair and maintenance information, I definitely recommend you check out this database!

Hidden Database Gems: Reference Solutions

- Callen Leave a comment

If you don’t spend much time scrolling through the research tools on our library website, you might not know about all the amazing online databases you have access to with your library card. The list includes encyclopedias, newspaper archives, genealogy resources, children’s encyclopedias, and much more! One specific hidden gem you might not know about is Data Axle Reference Solutions (previously known as ReferenceUSA).

Reference Solutions acts primarily as a business database, allowing you to look up established and new businesses by name, executives, location, or phone number. However, it also includes searches for individuals, health care providers, and job postings. It’s a very useful database for finding contact info or addresses, especially for people or businesses.

To try out Reference Solutions, go to our website, then under Research Tools, click on Online Resources. Scroll to the “D”s and you’ll find Data Axle: Reference Solutions.

You’ll probably be asked to log in with your library card. The front page when you log in looks like this:

Here you can choose to search for an individual, a business, a job, or a health care provider. When you hover over a category, words appear underneath saying “Search” or “More Information”. If you click on “Search”, it takes you to the default search page, which includes an Advanced Search on a second tab (circled).

You can put in as much information as you want, narrowing down by location and a name, and then click Search.  The search results will look like this:

For such a useful database, it’s pretty easy to use and gets you some fast information. One caveat: not every person or business is recorded in this database, so results aren’t guaranteed. Also, in the case of corporations, you may get several phone numbers or separate entries for regional offices. You can see where a business falls in the corporation by clicking on “Corp Tree” in the far right column.

What’s New With RBdigital Magazines

- Valerie Leave a comment

We are exited to announce the addition of HELLO! magazine to our digital magazine offering, as well as Conde Nast Traveler and  Life & Style Weekly.   These are just three of the fifty-three titles we are subscribing to this year with RBdigital Magazines.    And when we subscribe, you subscribe!

That’s right, as a Davenport cardholder you can read magazines that are cover-to-cover identical to the paper issues.   Login with your RBdigital account to check out and download issues that are yours to keep.  If you don’t have an RBdigital account yet, sign up here, by following the Create New Account link (top, right corner).

And, yes, there’s an app for that.  Best to limit use to a tablet, though; it can be challenging to view the magazine files on a smartphone.

Here’s the full list.  Which titles interest you?

AppleMagazine                                   Men’s Health

Backpacker                                         MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Bicycling                                              Motor Trend

Bon Appetit                                         National Geographic

Car and Driver                                    Newsweek

Chicago Magazine                             O, The Oprah Magazine

Clean Eating                                       OK! Magazine

Conde Nast Traveler                         Outside

Cook’s Illustrated                              PC Magazine

Cosmopolitan                                    PCWorld

Country Living                                  Popular Mechanics

Discover                                             Popular Science

Esquire                                               Prevention

Family Handyman                             Reader’s Digest

First for Women                                Rolling Stone

Food Network Magazine                 Runner’s World

Games                                                Smithsonian Magazine

Good Housekeeping                        Star Magazine

HELLO! magazine                            Taste Of Home

HGTV Magazine                               TV Guide Magazine

House Beautiful                                Us Weekly

In Touch Weekly                               WIRED

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance          Woman’s Day

Life & Style Weekly                          Women’s Health

Macworld                                           Woodworker’s Journal

Marie Claire                                       Yoga Journal

Maxim

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language of Love

- Rachel Leave a comment

Mango_colorDo you want to impress your sweetheart with your ability to say “I love you” in a different languages?  If so, the library can help!

The Davenport Public Library subscribes to a database called Mango Languages which can help you learn several different foreign languages.  So if you want to know how to say, “I love you” in another language this Valentine’s Day, you should take a look at Mango.

Mango Languages offers courses in  71 different languages.  But if you want to learn the “Language of Love”, you might want to try French. Or Italian.  Or possibly Spanish or Portuguese.  Those four languages have entire lesson plans dedicated to “Romance”.  Not only will you learn how to say, “I love you” in your chosen language, but you will also learn terms of endearment.  The lessons in the Romance section also teach you how to introduce yourself, offer to buy someone a drink, and other phrases that could be useful on a date.

I find that it is very easy to learn new foreign phrases on Mango Languages.  The lessons are interactive.  You can see the word and hear how it is pronounced at the same time.  You can play back the word as many times as you need to in order to get the pronunciation right.  And the best thing about Mango Languages is that you can learn at your own pace.  All you need is an Internet connection and a Davenport Public Library card in order to access Mango Languages!  Go to the Online Resources section of our website.  Scroll down alphabetically until you see Mango.  It is best if you sign up for a FREE account and all you need is an email account and password.  You can also find Mango Languages on Google Play and the App store.

Good luck with learning your new foreign phrases!

v day

ACT Test Preparation at Davenport Library

- Rachel Leave a comment

pencil-testAre you taking the ACT on February 7, 2015?  Do you need help preparing for the ACT? If so, the library can help!

The Davenport Public Library offers a database called Learning Express Library 3.0. This fantastic database offers tutorials on how to take the ACT as well as offer games and flash cards to help boost your skills.  Learning Express Library 3.0 also offers practice tests. As soon as you are done with a section, you can immediately find out your score. Best of all, you can go back and check your answers so you can find out what you missed. If you get an answer wrong, the test will tell you what areas you need to study.  For example, if you were taking the English Test and got an answer wrong, the test would tell you to review “Rhetorical Skills” or “Mechanics”.

Learning Express Library 3.0 can also help you study for the SAT, PSAT, and your AP exams too! So if you have need help studying for your exam, grab your Davenport Public Library card and check out Learning Express Library 3.0 today!

Zinio: Now Available from DPL

- Ann Leave a comment

zinio logoDo you love magazines? Do you have a Davenport library card? Now, you can get Zinio – the world’s largest newsstand, available through DPL! This service offers free online access to more than 150 current and popular magazines, and DPL patrons can access them on any internet-enabled device. To access Zinio, visit our digital gateway. From here, you will set up both a Library Collection Account and a Zinio.com Viewer Account: we suggest using the same email/password for both accounts. Now you’re ready to start reading! (for detailed instructions, email reference@davenportlibrary.com)

Whether you’re using a tablet computer, smartphone, laptop, or desktop, DPL’s free Zinio selection is the same. A few of the great titles that come free with your DPL card:

  • Rolling Stone
  • House Beautiful
  • Brides
  • Consumer Reports
  • Martha Stewart Living
  • Mental_Floss
  • O, the Oprah Magazine
  • Seventeen
  • Dwell
  • Cosmopolitan

…and more than a hundred others, covering every interest from gaming and technology to business and economics, the outdoors, lifestyle and fashion, fitness, science, spirituality, sports, scrapbooking, cooking, woodworking, and many more! There truly is something for everyone. Browse our Zinio pin board for another look!