First Things First

By now you may realize that I have a tendency to do things in reverse order; or in following a map, I choose the wrong direction. In exploring the OverDrive Digital Library, I thought I would start by watching the OverDrive Tutorial. It took over a minute to load each minute of tutorial for a grand total of over an hour. I was thinking "This can't be right" while I numbly continued to watch each step load. When it was over (finally), I went on to FAQ's. I think it was there I discovered that the Tutorial requires Flash installation and the prompt will tell you that. I didn't see any such prompt---it should flash in big red letters for a beginner like me. I read elsewhere that the first step should be to download OverDrive Console.

The Virtual Branch is amazing. The E-medium isn't my first choice, but I understand some people really prefer it; it can also be adapted for the blind. You don't even get charged late fees, although if the item is overdue, you can no longer open the file. It was easier to get into my library account than it used to be (or maybe it's just that I am more used to the computer---remembering one password is nothing). I was browsing in the audio books and the first item that flashed in front of my eyes in the self improvement section was "10-Minute Stress Manager"; I put it in my "shopping cart". Instead of checking it out, I signed out and turned off the computer! Feeding the birds is still my best stress reducer.

P.S. The Macaulay Library of the Cornell Lab has the world's largest archive of animal sounds and video; that's where WREN radio got her bird sounds.