I can't wrap my head around how I can power and manipulate a 24v stepper motor via my duemilanova. I know very little about electronics, but I am really trying to learn.
This is the motor that I am working with, for now. I ripped it out of an old printer :M35SP-9.
http://www.datasheetdir.com/go-M35SP-9.pdf
thanks for any help! 
I have checked them out...but they still don't make sense to me. I am just beginning to become familiar with schematics...so most of them are beyond me...I do however, have a stepper motor working with the arduino, but the supplied 5v is not enough to make the motor actually spin...it just kind of shakes back and forth....I guess what I dont get is, which of the 4 pins of my stepper motor go to the 24v power source if all of them need to receive sequential signals from the digital I/O pins?
All the wires on your motor need to be able to be connected to the +24 or the ground depending on what stage in the sequence you are.
http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Workshop/Motors_4.html
considering that I need to eventually control 196 motors...I think I am going to have to get my hands dirty and learn how to do this stuff from scratch.
sorry for my cluelessness, but what does the motor shield do exactly? how does it work?