Library professionals know the EBSCO name. EBSCO Information Service/EBSCO Publishing is a leading force in subscription management services. They also offer a number of quality databases that are highly recommended and extremely useful. Auto Repair Reference Center is one of these providing access to the repair and recall information for a majority of the major automobile manufacturers from 1945 to present.
Auto Repair Reference Center is a stand‐alone database. Because of this, it does not have the same interface as other EBSCOhost products. Instead of providing search boxes, there are columns, seven at the time of writing this review, of years that the user reviews. Once the year of the automobile is determined, the user simply clicks on that year. After clicking on the year, the next screen provides a list of models from which to select. Users click on their model and find the make of their particular automobile. From the model selection, users are provided a list of sub‐models from which to select. From there, users are provided a topical menu of various automotive elements, such as repair manuals, service bulletins, recall information, wiring diagrams, and a cost of labour calculator.
Although the database is not searchable, since the materials within the database are in PDF they are searchable. For example, the recall information and wiring diagrams are available in PDF, so they can be searched and printed easily.
The Auto IQ tab provides users with helpful and informative tips on automobiles in general. This area offers versions with audio files or non‐audio files. The audio section provides streaming videos covering these elements from fuel management to heating and air conditioning, while the non‐audio section covers the same information but through text and video files only. The remaining tabs are Care and Repair Tips and Troubleshooting. Each of these covers a majority of the inter‐workings of an automobile in general. No specifics are covered in these areas, because users are not selected a specific model. These areas are text‐based only but do offer a search option for easier use.
This database covers a wide range of automobiles and presents very practical information. It would be an extremely useful database for professional mechanics and those “do‐it yourselfers”. Public libraries serving large populations would benefit from this resource, as would a college or university library offering any type of automotive courses. Auto Repair Reference Center is highly recommended for all libraries.
