I've looked at the pros and cons of lots of tools for creating animation and, while I understand that Flash has a steep learning curve, it may be a tool that I wind up using -- especially since Flash 8 is on my computer now.
I will not have the option of attending instructor-led classes or of other costly options but will have to teach myself using books or other tools that I can obtain at no cost through our library.
Does anybody have any suggestions as to the best approaches to learning Flash, or as to the best books (preferably something with a reader-friendly layout).
What is the quickest/most efficient strategy? Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi Kathy -- I very honestly do not mean to be cheeky here, but the most efficient way for you to learn Flash is by learning it in whatever way(s) work(s) best for you. In what learning environments are you usually the most successful? Do you usually prefer to work in groups? With guidance? On your own? Do you need aural support? Do you need to discuss things? Do you prefer to draw pictures or mind maps while someone explains something? Etc. Etc...

You might want to at least find a Flash mentor or user group that can help support your questions as you work with books to learn.

Kathy, it really depends how you learn. You may try a something like Lynda.com This site has web-based video tutorials that walk you through learning flash step-by-step. For one month, you can access their online videos for $25.00. You can learn a lot of Flash in one month if you put in the time.

I would suggest this however...if you know what you want to create in the end, then work backwards from there learning how to do that in flash, you may find that you will be ahead of the game.

I would also suggest http://www.cartoonsmart.com

They have very inexpensive narrated movies (some free ones) that have helped me a lot. I like the fact that the author has an opinion about what works well and what doesn't.

Become a memeber of www.flashkit.com

It is free and they have a wealth of info on Flash, not to mention, discussion threads where industry experts can answer all your questions!

Highly recommend!

One way I learned Flash is by looking at already created .FLA files and analyzing them to see how things were developed and coded. Flashkit has free .FLA downloads where folks post their work.