Ah, what could be better than young love? How about young gadget love! Libraries are all about transformation and discovery, and we regularly enjoy our patrons’ enthusiasm as they discover new ways of experiencing life and culture. This account of one librarian’s thrilling honeymoon with her new iPod will bring back fond memories for some, and perhaps tempt others to take the plunge. – Editor
Do I feel alive in the 21st century with a new blue iPod Nano, a recent gift! I’ve been jealous for awhile of those people walking around with white earbuds. It’s typical technology, coming with only a few brief instructions pages on that glossy paper. I click to the Apple site, Google some “how do I iPod?!” instructions, and dive in.
I download music from my personal music collection. First Taking the Long Way Home by the Dixie Chicks, then Verdi’s Requiem with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. I grin as my home computer’s cd drive makes that whir-whirring sound. The next adventure is with the 
Library’s digital book collection. I find a biography about Florence Nightingale by Laura E. Richards, and agree with the description that both children and adults would enjoy this short read.
I click on iTunes and bravely add the icon to the sparse computer desktop image that my husband tries to rule. Now for the plunge: for .99 cents, I purchase one melodic track from Rubinstein’s Beethoven Sonatas. It’s nerve-wracking to think I only own an online copy of a classical work, and that it’s not on a shiny silver disc in a plastic case.
I decide to listen to the book that 
my women’s book club is going to discuss soon. I place a hold for a book-on-cd copy of Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. My iPod and I spend 5 hrs and 32 minutes together, vicariously hearing about two sisters growing up in an eccentric family. The next audio book downloaded is Enchantment, a biography about Audrey Hepburn. What a fascinating actress and human being. I finished it on an airplane and felt so trendy needing to turn off my electronic device before landing.
What is there left to do with this flat metal thing that measures 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches? Podcasts! I listen to book talks from The New Yorker, and watch video about matcha green tea. And, of course, the library’s podcasts!
Yes, my iPod is a new hobby. But where did I read useful reviews about these books and music? Where can I track down other books on Audrey? And, where can I find resource books about more cool things about iTunes, or tutorials on downloadable ebooks? You guessed it. At the Seattle Public Library, with my library card.
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