I’m starting to catch up with one part of the new generation’s technology: ebooks. I have read 5 now. The amazing part is I learned how to check out a library ebook. Now that opens up a lot of possibilities.

Or so I thought. The Austin Public Library does have lots of ebooks, which they call “downloadables.” I read recently how many ebooks they had available to download, but now I can’t find that number on their web site.

It seemed like a large number until I started looking for books on my to-read list. After an hour or so, I found one: Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures by Robert K. Wittman. I managed to check it out and read it on my Kindle reader. (There was a scandal on the PBS series The Antiques Roadshow? I never knew.)

You can check in ebooks before their due date. Even if you’re late, there is no late fee because you’re not really late. The download expires at the end of the lending period, which is only 14 days, by the way, instead of 21 days for a hardcopy book.

I wanted to check out another ebook. After an hour or so, I hadn’t found any other books on my to-read list, so I decided to take a chance on a book and author I hadn’t heard of. That effort still took another half hour, but I managed to pick one: The Informationist A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel by Taylor Stevens.

I read it, I liked it, I want another library ebook.

But I’ve already cross-referenced my wish list with their downloadable list. I’ve already sifted through the lists and lists of ebooks, using the “only show available copies” option. I either have to expand my wish list or take even more chances on books and authors I’ve never heard of.

It’s getting to where it takes me almost as long to check out an ebook as to read it.