LIBRARY BLOG
Are you looking to do some maintenance work on your central unit before the winter months; maybe you want to replace an old rattling ceiling fan that has lost its allure. Do you have the time and patience to do the job yourself and need some help with the instructions and diagrams? Are you looking to save some money? Maybe you want to hire a contractor and need help drawing up a business contract. If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then I encourage you to check out EBSCO’s Home Improvement Reference Center database; it is the perfect tool for the do-it-yourself individual.
From the library’s website at mytpl.org click on Research (like the image above) and then select Databases by Name. From there, scroll down to “H” and you will see a list of the library databases starting with the letter “H.” The fifth one from the top is the Home Improvement Reference Center as depicted in the image below.
After selecting “Home Improvement Reference Center,” you will see the screen below.
The search box on the upper left-hand corner allows you to search by “keyword search” or browse by anyone of the categories below:
- A to Z Topics
- Decorating
- Electrical
- Maintenance
- Outdoor
- Plumbing
- Remolding
- Woodworking
To the right of the screen, you will find the Tool box below:
Inside the Toolbox one will find the following useful information:
How-To Videos in the Toolbox provides video tutorials on painting interior and exterior surfaces, unclogging a sink drain, garbage disposer, other plumbing basics, installing flood lights, to laying a brick walkway or patio.
Conversion Charts, under the toolbox, shows you conversions from metric equivalents in inches, feet, yards, millimeters, centimeters etc. There is information on different kinds of saw blades, adhesives, nails, lumber, and a drill bit guide. The information can be downloaded and printed.
The Glossary under the toolbox, is a useful feature for terms you may not know.
The Homeowners’ Journal under the toolbox is something that you can download and print out and use to record permanent information on your house and what you might use for installation.
The last tool in the toolbox is the Working with Contractors. Maybe you don’t have the time to do it yourself, or the job is just too big and you’d prefer hiring a contractor to do the work. If you’re planning to go with this option, then you need to protect yourself and draw up a To Do List that outlines the job and what you want the contractor to do. The Working with Contractors section has valuable information that a Homeowner needs to be knowledgeable about when dealing with private contractors.
The Home Improvement Reference Center database is easy to navigate and is absolutely free for library patrons of Terrebonne Parish. You can access it both from the inside and outside of the library across multiple devices. All you need is a library card. We encourage library patrons who want to engage in some home improvement projects to give it a try. It is a very useful database and one that is extremely valuable to have.
– Carlos, Reference Librarian