Thursday, January 23, 2014

Online Resources @ Your Library



Need to know how to change an oil filter? 

Refinish a chair?

Learn how to say “thank you” in Japanese?

You can find those things – and more – in the Finger Lakes Library System’s databases. Databases are reference and learning tools that contain everything from basic information to training modules and test preparation. There’s a link to library databases under “Candor Library Links” on the right.

Here are a few of the databases available through our library system:

Auto Repair Reference Center -  provides information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles, with repair information for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1945. The step-by-step procedures are written specifically for the Do-It-Yourselfer, but comprehensive enough for professional technicians. The database includes repair procedures, service bulletins and recalls, wiring diagrams, and a calculator to estimate repair costs at a service station.

HeritageQuest Online Genealogy -  offers materials for researching family histories and American culture. It includes over 20,000 books, the entire U.S. Federal Census from 1790 - 1930, PERSI (PERiodical Source Index), Freedman’s Bank Records, Revolutionary War Pension Records, and more.

Health Reference Center Academic – provides periodicals, newsletters, medical journals, and consumer health magazines related to nursing and allied health issues.

Mango Languages - an easy to use online language-learning system that teaches conversation skills for a wide variety of languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Greek, German, Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese. Mango uses real-life situations and actual conversations to more effectively teach a new language to learn how to communicate. Specialized ESL courses are also available.

Learning Express -   helps prepare you for a variety of academic and civil service tests, including SAT, GED, ASVAB, clerical worker, police officer, firefighter, postal worker and real estate practice tests. There are math, reading, and writing skill-building resources for all students. Job seekers can receive help in creating a resume and cover letter and tips on preparing for a job.

There’s a treasure-trove of resources for book-lovers including:

Literary Reference Center  - a full-text database featuring a collection of author biographies, plot summaries, and critical analyses of literary works from literary reference books, monographs, magazines & journals, and other publications. There are also links to 8,000 classic novels, 11,000 short stories, 25,000 poems and more than 1,000 images of literary figures.

NoveList Fiction Guide – a fiction readers' guide to finding new authors and titles. Use a favorite author or title as a starting point to locate other authors and titles of interest. Or enter words that describe the contents of a book you would like to read, and NoveList retrieves titles that contain these words in the book's subject headings field.

TumbleBooks - an online collection of animated, talking picture books which are created from existing picture books. TumbleBooks also includes a collection of full length, unabridged classics in audio format and a small collection of books in French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Also available are puzzles, games and quizzes.

Most of these databases are available from your home computer – all you need is a valid Candor Free Library Card (or a card from any other FLLS library). Don’t have a computer at home? Come down to the library and log onto one of ours.