A Library for Your Everyday Needs

By Nicholle Gerharter, Reference Librarian

December 24, 2008

Many people use the library for recreational reasons. They check out movies, read the latest fiction bestsellers, listen to music, and listen to books on CD while traveling. They flip through magazines while spending time downtown, jump on the Internet to check their email, and find themselves revisiting well-loved classics. Children laugh as they explore new authors and stories, and teens spend time with friends after school. We all love the library and the popular materials it offers.

In addition, the library provides a tremendous practical value for community members. How-to books and DVDs, repair manuals, guides and maps give you concrete answers and facts to help with your daily life.

For example, homeowners often check out library materials to teach themselves to tile, landscape, decorate, renovate, or make repairs. By using library materials, not only are you saving money by not purchasing books you’ll need only once, but you are learning skills to complete the tasks yourself. Do-it-yourself projects go much more smoothly with up-to-date books and magazines filled with progress pictures and step-by-step explanations.

Cookbooks are the ultimate in practicality. What is more practical than learning to create a meal that is healthy, affordable, and tasty? At Natrona County Public Library, the cookbook collection is a high-volume, extremely popular area, stocked with recipes from many cuisines, dietary needs and specialties. Stop by before you whip up your next feast!

Many Wyomingites enjoy outdoor adventures. Practical books that include campsite locations, fishing tips and tricks, historic routes, and identification guides are a must on any vacation. A recent visit to Yellowstone National Park would not have been as fun or as successful without the guides I checked out from the library to bring along.

Unfortunately, one of the most practical services NCPL offers is also one of our community’s best kept secrets. For those working on repairing vehicles, we offer two invaluable digital resources.

Alldata Auto Repair database is an online service, available in the library, that provides repair information and wiring diagrams for vehicles from 1982-2009. Weekend-warrior mechanics can print the information they find.

A second resource, the Chilton Library database, contains repair information on thousands of year, make, and model combinations covering the most popular vehicles of the past 30 years, plus additional coverage of specialty models. This resource has been indispensable for many patrons in the midst of repairing their vehicles.

The Chilton Library can be accessed online, from home, by any Wyoming resident with a library card. Just go to natronacountylibrary.org from the comfort of your home computer, click on “Search the Databases,” choose Chilton Library, and enter your library card number and PIN (call the library to verify your numbers). What a great way to find the information and diagrams you need when you need them!

The practical uses of the library are too numerous to list here. We encourage you to visit your library to discover how library materials and staff can assist you in the practical projects you undertake each day. Please call 577-READ for more information.

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