Chilton Library online - where smart patrons click for service information

Whether you are an amateur do-it-yourselfer, a service professional, or an aspiring automotive service engineer, Chilton Online provides reliable car repair information. Access 24/7 from your library, home, or on the go, all you need is you library card. A valuable resource, this database is the perfect alternative to those hefty manuals. If you are studying car repair, there are prep questions for the certification test. Nearly every make and model is covered, using an easy to understand menu that guides you to the information needed. Even if you are not doing the work yourself, the database is helpful in providing the correct terminology to help you do a better job of explaining the problem to your mechanic.

Know ahead of time how long the job should take. Take a test drive through this database and discover how easy and informative it is. Just search your make and model and go from there.

Listed below are some of the highlights of Chilton Online.

• Look up recalls and service bulletins
• Find estimated labour time
• Prepare for ASE mechanic certification with test prep quizzes (13 in total)
• 'Listen To' option is now available for specifics such as wiring diagrams
• Graphics that can be enlarged on screen to suit your needs

Login and see for yourself!

Back to it!

School. Here we go again! Hard to believe that summer holiday has ended and school is already back in session. For some, this is the very first time to go to school. Even heading out to preschool for the first time can be daunting to a young child (and their parents, too!). We've got books that can help with this transition-- it is sometimes comforting to see your situation in a picture book, and learn that it all comes out fine in the end. Click HERE to see the booklist and place holds for those that you'd like to share with your child. And when your child gets home from school, this blog post has some great tips for talking about their day. This Pinterest board from Scholastic has so many good links to explore as you and your child settle back into the school year.

When buying school supplies, don't forget one of the best FREE things you can get for your child-- a library card! Book reports? We've got books, and plenty of them! Is your child just learning to read? We've got Little Reader Bags that you can bring home for extra practise. We also have them in French. Do you have a child who isn't terribly fond of reading? How about trying an audiobook? We have them on CD as well as downloads. Your local library has plenty to support your child's education. If you can't find what you need, just ask us!

For your older child, start the year off right with no homework woes. We offer FREE online tutors from Tutor.com every day from 3 PM- midnight. Can't figure out that math problem? Physics not making sense? Have an essay that needs a bit of sprucing up? The online tutors at Tutor.com can help! You'll need your library card and access to the Internet, and you are on your way to getting that homework done!

All of our branches offer free WiFi and access to computers. We have programs for after school, such as LEGO and crafts. We've got storytimes for your child who is not yet in school (storytime is a great way to get your child ready for school). We offer databases with access to magazine articles, health information, statistics, and author information. We have teen programs, too!

We hope to see you this fall and are happy to help with your schooling needs, as well as providing reading materials just for fun! Come visit your local library. We'll be here.

Health and Wellness Database

If you are looking for health information you do not have to go any further than your library website.   You can click on the Search Databases tab at the top of our webpage and find the Health and Wellness Database  or if you are searching for titles in our web catalogue there is an option to connect to that database on the right hand side of the page.   

Whether it’s a specific condition that you want to know more about, a prescription drug or you need to find an association in your area, the Health and Wellness database can help.  Tabs across the top and search boxes below help direct you to a variety of information.  You can search by condition name or by symptom.  There are “in the news” highlighted topics and articles that can be printed, emailed or downloaded.  The best way to learn how to get the most from this resource is to take the Guided Tour listed at the top of the page.   It will pinpoint and highlight all the search tools and tips to use this resource. 

Here are a couple of interesting features:  The first one is a personal risk assessment tool that is available.  Here you can calculate your own risk for certain diseases and get tips on how to lower your risk. The other is the video option that will come up with the results of a search.   While watching the video you also get a transcript of the presentation and the credentials of the presenters.  

The information on this site is certified by the HONcode so has been evaluated as being trustworthy information.   I think you will find this database to be very useful either on its own or in addition to the books found in our catalogue.   

--Patricia Milner, Head of Reference Services

Get your HOMEWORK done. Get Back to Your LIFE!

“Now it doesn’t take me 3 hours to finish my chemistry homework” 10^th Grade Student

Tutor.com can help you get your homework done, write your paper or study for your test so that you can get back to doing the things you love. Don’t get frustrated and don’t stay stuck. Instead, grab your library card and log on to Tutor.com through the Annapolis Valley Regional Library  to get the help you need, right when you need it. Tutors are available from 3 PM – midnight, 7 days a week. See what an online classroom looks like here.

Students (and parents!) can get help for any kind of academic question in math, science, English, social studies and writing. The tutors work with students in kindergarten through 12^th grade and even enrichment-level class work and intro-level college coursework. Connecting with a tutor is easy. You just need a library card and a computer or mobile device with internet access. Just point your browser to www.tutor.com/AVRL.  

This resource is free for AVRL library card holders—just another in the long list of reasons why you should have a library card!  And if you create a FREE account, you can use the bonus features of Tutor.com – access to previous sessions, able to use the app (for iPad & iPhone); a “homework locker” which can store files that you can access from anywhere; and more! And if you find a tutor you really like, you can ask for that tutor when you log in. Tutors must go through a rigorous application process and several background checks in order to work for Tutor.com, so you know you are getting expert help.

The tutors will be available seven days a week, from 3 PM to midnight, but there are many other resources available 24/7. And Tutor.com is not just for grade-school students! College students and adults returning to classes, and those looking for jobs can get help, too. So don’t stay stuck—get help online and let the library help you on your way to better grades!  Connect. Learn. Go.

Want to find out more? We are hosting a launch party at the Berwick Library on Wednesday, November  13 from 3 - 4:30 PM. Stop by to see how it works, and have a snack with us!

September is National Arthritis Month

According to the Arhritis Society of Canada, arthritis—a term that includes more than 100 diseases and conditions—affects 4.6  million Canadians, more than half of whom are under the age of 65.   A cross-section of some of these are listed here:

Sjogren's Syndrome

Psoriatic Arthritis

Lupus

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Juvenile Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Still's Diseases

Mixed and Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Diseases (MCTD/UCTD)

Arthritis can strike anyone at anytime so this is definitely not just a factor of aging and for our own benefit we should make sure we try to stay informed on what is a growing concern for all Canadians.

For more information on the types mentioned and other forms of this condition the Arthritis Society of  Nova Scotia  has a very good site featuring the latest in research, webcasts, patient education and an  "Ask an Expert" blog hosted by a doctor with 30 years experience in Rheumatology.

Using your library card you can also access our Health and Wellness and Cochrane Library  databases for information on conditions and research.  The library also has several titles on the subject of arthritis that are available for checkout. 

Patricia Milner, Head of Reference Services

Searching for Your Roots

Do those commercials for Ancestry.com leave you longing to search for your roots?  Do you wish you knew more about your ancestors but don't know where to start?

Tracing your family history just got a whole lot easier.  Effective immediately, all branches of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library are offering free access to the Library Edition of Ancestry.com. 

Ancestry.com offers access to tons of genealogical information such as censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more.

Last year AVRL offered the Library Edition of Ancestry.com in four branches as a pilot project to gauge public interest and it proved to so popular that we have expanded it to all locations. In fact almost all public libraries in Nova Scotia now offer it.  It's a great resource for the novice or the serious genealogist.  It's also kind of neat to find documents relating to your long lost relatives.  I found a listing for a ship that regularly travelled from Lunenburg to Boston that my grandfather worked on in the 1920's.  He was listed as a "legal alien" and it even included a physical description of him including height, weight, hair and eye colour so no illegal aliens could stow away on the ship and get into the U.S.!

You can find the link to Ancestry.com on the lower left-hand side of the AVRL website .  This can only be accessed from inside the library using the library computers or you can use your own device with our wireless network.  Come on in and try it! 

Posted by Frances Newman, Regional Librarian

Health Information Online – The HONcode Symbol

We are surrounded by an avalanche of information when it comes to our health.   Naturally we want to be able to find out about our symptoms or conditions on our own time and there are plenty of tools out there for us to use. 

The library hosts a health and wellness database, and Nova Scotia has a dedicated health line  (just dial 811 and you can speak to a registered nurse);  and of course there is always the Internet waiting for your question.  The Internet is often the route that most people take.

If you want to do your own research and want to be sure about the quality of their information, here is a little tip.   There is a Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the provision of quality health information.   It is called the Health on the Net Foundation . 

They provide certification using the HONcode  symbol  to websites that meet and follow a specified code of conduct with regards to health information. When you are surfing the internet and see that symbol on the webpage you will immediately know that certain evaluation criteria were met.  This means you don't have to spend extra time investigating the credentials of each website yourself.

Another shortcut that is offered is the HONcode search page which will search your terms and only retrieve information from HONcode certified sites.  This narrows your results eliminating a lot of searching on your part.  This is not to say that there is not good information on other sites that did not seek certification only that the sites retrieved did.  You will find that most well known health sites have this symbol on their page.

It is important that when you are looking into any medical problem you get current and reliable information.   We want to help you find it whether you use our databases or investigate on your own.   Hopefully this tip will help provide you with the right information before your next visit to your health care provider. 

--Patricia Milner, Head of Reference