Hardly a day passes that someone doesn't visit the library in search of a Chilton manual. A favorite of car repair buffs and do-it-yourselfers, Chilton manuals used to inhabit row after row of library shelving. The greasy manuals were so well loved that borrowers frequently kept the pages they needed or simply failed to return the books.

Thanks to innovations in technology, today's Chilton manuals are no longer greasy, grimy, disappearing volumes with missing pages. Instead, Chilton's are found online at most library websites. At Whitman County, Chilton's can be located at the Whitman County Library website under the Electronic Resources link.

The great thing about online products like Chilton's is that they can be accessed from home or work 24/7 or from your local library branch using public computing stations. Unlike its predecessor, the book, online products are always on the shelf and you don't have to wait for the library to be open to pick them up.

Besides Chilton's Auto Repair Center, the library purchases a number of other online resources that residents can access using a valid library card number. Proquest is a database of nearly 4000 newspapers and magazines, searchable by subject or specific title. For residents looking to save money on subscriptions, you'll be thrilled to see that nearly every title you desire is found on Proquest and accessible right from your home computer. Oprah's magazine, O and Newsweek are two that I love to browse from home.

Other community favorites found at the library's website are Consumer Reports, Small Engine Repair, Heritage Quest, Birds of North America and Legal Forms on File. All of these resources are offered as a service of your public library but would cost you money if you accessed from somewhere besides the library's website.

For the younger researcher, WCL offers eLibrary and Grolier Online encyclopedias. eLibrary searches the archives of newspapers, magazines, books and transcripts. Impressively, it also contains maps, photos, audio, video, television and radio transcripts for download. Groliers is a trusted source that searches seven top-notch encyclopedias including The New Book of Popular Science, and Lands and Peoples.

For people are exploring educational opportunities and career changes the Testing and Education Resource Center is extremely helpful resource. This site allows you to practice for a number of civil service, licensing, college prep or entrance exams. It identifies scholarship opportunities and helps you locate the right college or graduate school. Bridges is another product offered by the library that supports your educational and career needs. Bridges is supported by WCL's vocational staffer Erica Willson who can assist you with your educational and career planning. Contact the library directly for more information about this service.

For a complete listing of the Electronic Resources available, you'll need to visit the website of the library for which you have a library card. For Whitman County Library, visit www.whitco.lib.wa.us. For Neill Public Library visit www.neill-lib.org and for Latah County Library visit www.latahlibrary.org.

For more information, contact:

Kristie Kirkpatrick at 509-397-4366

For a complete list of events and programs happening in all fourteen Whitman County Library branches, visit the Whitman County Library website or the library's events calendar.