Picture of Susanna Howard

Susanna Howard

Susanna Howard is a Library Assistant in the Reference and Local History department at CDPL.

Some books are meant for more than just the joy of reading them. They impart valuable information and instructions that you can apply to all sorts of hobbies and projects. Cookbooks and craft pattern books are very popular, but what you may not know is that we also have a large section on cars!

The Chilton Service Manuals (629.287 Chi) is a prime resource with specific advice for a range of manufacturers. We have both physical books and onsite access to the Chilton Automotive Database here at CDPL, so you can find reliable, up-to-date information on the computer. Search it on our website at https://www.cdpl.lib.in.us/databases/ or click on Databases under the Econtent tab. If you want to access the database from home, contact the Reference Desk at 765-362-2242, extension 117.

Car fans can admire the technical design in Turbo: An A-Z of Turbocharged Cars by Graham Robson (629.2222 Rob) and Go like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A. J. Baime (796.72 Bai). Walter J. Boyne’s Power Behind the Wheel: Creativity and the Evolution of the Automobile (629.231 Boy) offers a historical overview of the innovations that lead to today’s cars. At the Crossroads: Middle America and the Battle to Save the Car Industry by Abraham Aamidor (338.4762 Aam) and Car Sick: Solutions for Our Car-Addicted Culture by Lynn Sloman (388.042 Slo) take a look at the social side of those developments.

Where you have cars, you want good roads, so check out The Road Taken: The History and Future of America’s Infrastructure by Henry Petroski (388.1 Pet). Or, for one famous road, watch the documentary Route 66: Kitsch and Mythical (DVD 388.1 Rou). Plan your next adventure with Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Road Trips (910.202 Dri), or take a ride with Earl Swift’s Auto Biography: A Classic Car, an Outlaw Motorhead, and 57 Years of the American Dream (LP 629.28722 SWI).

Want more? Join us for Let’s Talk Cars & Trucks on Tuesday, April 25 and get individual advice on anything to do with cars from a speaker with 50 years of experience. You can check out what’s happening at the library on our website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us or call us at 765-362-2242. CDPL is open Monday-Thursday 9a-9p, Friday-Saturday 9a-5p, and Sunday 1-5p.

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