#11 Library & Reference

I am a media specialist.  I embrace technology.  I teach people how to teach with technology.  I can troubleshoot tech problems quite well.  I am my family's tech support.  I answer eleventy billion tech related questions every day.  I live on my phone, iPad, and computer.  I am "connected" for most of my waking hours.

Except when I'm reading a book.

When I read books, I am able to escape technology.  I often do this on my deck, in bed, or on the sofa.

I only read "real" books.  I like to hold them.  Smell them.  Touch them. I have never read a book on a device.  Ever.

For this "thing", I'm going to try.  I plan to not like it, but I'm scared that I might.  It scares me, because I know that I am too connected, and my reading lets me hold on to some last vestiges of "olden days".  This may make no sense to someone reading this blog, but it makes total sense in my head.

My students have the Mackin VIA app on their iPads, but we don't own a lot of eBooks yet (just over 100 so far...those suckers are PRICEY!), and until we're fully 1:1, I haven't pushed it much.  We only buy multi-user, unlimited-checkout books (nonfiction, for the most part) and I've shown kids how to find them and how to open them, but I've never read one of them on the device. The Mackin app is great and easy to use, and the folks at Mackin offer awesome customer service to boot.

I just downloaded the Overdrive app.  I've heard of it, but never used it.  I easily found a library (GRRL out of St. Cloud...with lots of branches) and connected to it.  Then I got an Adobe ID of some sort to make it all "work"....ugh...yet ANOTHER login. It took me a minute or two to figure out how to check out books (and find ones that were available), and that was it.  I checked out a book that was available and I've heard great things about but haven't read (Gone Girl).

I have the book available for two weeks.  We'll see how much of it I have actually read by April 2nd.

I don't want to like it......because if I do, this could be REALLY convenient.  And I still want to smell real books.

Note: March 25th:  Over the last two days, I read Gone Girl on my iPad mini.  I loved the story itself.  I liked the convenience of carrying it around in my purse and reading a few pages here and there while waiting at appointments.  I liked that I could read it in bed and not have to worry about the lights being on.  I think I will prefer my books in the summer on the deck (sun glare, etc.) but I actually didn't "mind" the experience as much as I thought I might.
I just downloaded another book.....because it was convenient.  Am I converted?  No.  Will I likely read more books this way?  Probably.