eBooks and Adobe

One of the many to do items on my list is figuring out how to get an eBook on the iPad. Yes, many people have done this, but I just had to jump through the hoops to see how it is done. Of course, there are many flavors of eBooks and readers, so this is just one example.
 
I pointed my browser to the Cambridge City Library page which has a section for Electronic Books. There, three options were presented: Overdrive’s Digital Media Catalog, EBSCO’s eBook Collection, and Project Gutenberg. I know about Project Gutenberg and have even read books from that source, so I thought I’d try something different.
 
I clicked on Overdrive to see what there was to see. This brought up a catalog of digital media that was imbedded in the Minuteman Catalog. There were three types of media: Adobe EPUB, Kindle, and MP3 audio.  I chose a book that was presented in Adobe EPUB book format because I wanted digital text to read and I had used Kindle before.
 
I clicked on the information button by the EPUB file to see what I needed to make my borrowing experience successful. It turns out I needed the Overdrive Media Console, so I opened the App Store and downloaded that.
 
Upon selecting the book, I was prompted to log in to my library account. Afterwards, I was allowed a 7, 14, or 21 day checkout. I chose 7 days and clicked Download. Up came my newly installed Overdrive Media Console which told me I had to have an Adobe ID. I tried a few different variations of what surely was an old ID, but no use. 
 
I clicked on the link to make a new ID which brought up a browser with the Adobe website ready for my details. I entered them, returned to the Overdrive App, and entered my newly minted Adobe ID in the proper fields. Finally, the book loaded, and I could read it. 
 
That was a lot of setup for a digital book, but it was free through my local library. Also, I shouldn’t have to do all of that again.