These are a few of my favorite things

Technology. It adds so much to our lives, including the weight of the things we take along with us. I am writing this as I sit at a research table on the second floor of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the last 12 months I have been here three times. I thought I knew pretty much what was here but my usual self-guided tour, browsing through the online catalog, microtext catalog, shelves of books, and microtext cabinets added several things to my research list. I did come armed with some important tools to help with the research process.

• Digital camera, battery charger, cable to transfer images to my computer, and SLIK compact tripod
  
• Computer with CoolPad to keep the air circulating under it
• Canon flatbed scanner that connects with a USB cable, no power cord needed
  
• Zune and earbuds to listen to my favorite women's radio station or music stored on the computer. I can listen to the radio station as a live stream online.
• Copy card for the ACPL
• Cell phone and charger (of course the phone is always on silent or vibrate)
• SimpleTech portable, pocket-size hard drive for backup with USB cable to connect directly to my computer.
  
• 2 flash drives for storage and sharing documents
• Special wipes to clean the computer and scanner screens
• Power strip with a heavy duty surge protector that has extra outlets for the various equipment
• Vital to all this: acetaminophen for the aching back and shoulders and a briefcase on wheels to carry all of it.