Texas library offers glimpse of bookless future

An inevitable step in our digital age. San Antonio is the first city in the nation to build a bookless library.

Texas has seen the future of the public library, and it looks a lot like an Apple Store: Rows of glossy iMacs beckon. iPads mounted on a tangerine-colored bar invite readers. And hundreds of other tablets stand ready for checkout to anyone with a borrowing card.

All-digital libraries have been on college campuses for years. But the county, which runs no other libraries, made history when it decided to open BiblioTech. It is the first bookless public library system in the country, according to information gathered by the American Library Association.

San Antonio is the nation's seventh-largest city but ranks 60th in literacy, according to census figures. Back in the early 2000s, community leaders in Bibliotech's neighborhood of low-income apartments and thrift stores railed about not even having a nearby bookstore, said Laura Cole, BiblioTech's project coordinator. A decade later, Cole said, most families in the area still don't have wi-fi.

But in the nearly four months since BiblioTech opened, Elkholf has yet to lend out one of her pricey tablets and never see it again. The space is also more economical than traditional libraries despite the technology: BiblioTech purchases its 10,000-title digital collection for the same price as physical copies, but the county saved millions on architecture because the building's design didn't need to accommodate printed books.

Source

I'm actually kind of surprised Google didn't build it ... www.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by six67seven
Interesting post, six67seven.

This doesn't surprise me at all in light of the path even our educational system seems to be heading. In my area, there are a myriad of advertisements for virtual K-12 institutions and Kahn University, which caters to individuals of all ages and geography, has been receiving major advertising exposure in recent months (60 minutes expose as well as a recent alignment with a major US corporation - can't remember which one but anyone can feel free to chime in).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all an advocate for the online option for our youngsters; I'm merely pointing out that this doesn't surprise me in light of the writing on the wall in addition to the prevalent preference amongst the masses of virtual books.

welcome to the new age of dumb.....so the next generations can look forward to no reading and writing.....just a bunch of screens saying this is how it is with a bit of subliminal thrown in for good luck.....

and as for history goes they can upload and change it as they wish......

Maybe it's just my age... but there is still no better feeling than an old worn paperback in my hands as I hunker down to go on a new adventure some evenings.

I have refused to purchase a reader for this very reason. I can get used paperbacks for 25/50 cents a piece all day long and I do love to read, I am sad that there may come a time when there are no more paperbacks to dog ear until my next "getaway".

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


Its your age. Lol.

Books paved the way for tablets just as stone paved the way for scrolls, and scrolls for books.

Wonder for what tablets are paving the way....

six67seven
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Its your age. Lol.

Books paved the way for tablets just as stone paved the way for scrolls, and scrolls for books.

Wonder for what tablets are paving the way....

Thanks. I got a birthday coming up... I may need two cakes for the candles.

I imagine tablets will pave the way for some kind of retina implant in the future. Then you could just que up whatever you were looking for right in front of your eyes...literally.

Times.... they are changing!

six67seven
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Its your age. Lol.

Books paved the way for tablets just as stone paved the way for scrolls, and scrolls for books.

Wonder for what tablets are paving the way....

Implants.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

I'm right there with you and the Kindle I purchase years ago at the behest of my kids continues to gather dust; however, our kids are growing up in a virtual world where, as hard as it is to believe, the preference of a book's physicality is lost on them. What a shame if you ask me.

reply to post by timidgal


I love books: the snap of a page being turned, the smell, the weight in my lap. I enjoy making notes in the margins. The Kindle made me feel removed from the whole experience. Plus, it caused headaches and eyestrain. The ipad reader was worse.

Kangaruex4Ewe

six67seven
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Its your age. Lol.

Books paved the way for tablets just as stone paved the way for scrolls, and scrolls for books.

Wonder for what tablets are paving the way....

Times.... they are changing!

...changing faster than ever before. Making it hard to keep up. Information overload. Happy early birthday!

Klassified

six67seven
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Its your age. Lol.

Books paved the way for tablets just as stone paved the way for scrolls, and scrolls for books.

Wonder for what tablets are paving the way....

Implants.

I Suppose we will be part computer very soon then, melding with computers to eliminate "information overload" as I mentioned above. Seems like, instead of creating A.I., we will become A.I.
Ahhh, Evolution.

drwill
reply to post by timidgal

 

I love books: the snap of a page being turned, the smell, the weight in my lap. I enjoy making notes in the margins. The Kindle made me feel removed from the whole experience.

You nailed it on the head. The physicality of a book creates an emotional experience for the reader that only serves to enhance the written words; something an impersonal electronic device can never be a substitute for.

Kangaruex4Ewe
Maybe it's just my age... but there is still no better feeling than an old worn paperback in my hands as I hunker down to go on a new adventure some evenings.

I have refused to purchase a reader for this very reason. I can get used paperbacks for 25/50 cents a piece all day long and I do love to read, I am sad that there may come a time when there are no more paperbacks to dog ear until my next "getaway".

I'm only 35 and very technically inclined. I prefer an actual book any day and have not purhased a reader.

reply to post by OccamsRazor04


36 here and I think we may be the last generation to have that appreciation. I sure hope not...

reply to post by six67seven


This reminds me of Mr. Wordsworth.

OccamsRazor04

Kangaruex4Ewe
Maybe it's just my age... but there is still no better feeling than an old worn paperback in my hands as I hunker down to go on a new adventure some evenings.

I have refused to purchase a reader for this very reason. I can get used paperbacks for 25/50 cents a piece all day long and I do love to read, I am sad that there may come a time when there are no more paperbacks to dog ear until my next "getaway".

I'm only 35 and very technically inclined. I prefer an actual book any day and have not purhased a reader.

There's no age limit on personal preference, OccamsRazor, but I think that the younger generations (take my two children, one in her 20's and the second a teenager) have grown up in a society where something technology-based is typically the medium of choice. Just as I and others, including yourself, can cite the reasons why we love the physicality of a book, I'm sure that my kids and many of my contemporaries can cite equally valid reasons why they prefer using a reader. It's not a matter of being right or wrong, better or worse, but I do believe that there are some prevalent generational differences that play a part in shaping their personal preference.

Sorry but this was worth it just for "bibliotech"

I don't even want to go into the library; your still way behind.

reply to post by hopenotfeariswhatweneed


INDEED. No need for piles of burning books . . . just press the DELETE key.

The oligarchy must be thrilled.

A-boooooo!
That's not a library! You can't check out an adventure and bring it home with you. Read it at your leisure. Curl up with it on a couch, in your bed, on the beach. Doze off with it in your lap. It might be a resource center, but it's no library. I don't care what they try to call it.

reply to post by timidgal


I agree. I think the reader is more "convenient" ... but lacks the same experience. I am typically one who does not cling to the past and jumps onboard a superior product every time. I just do not find the convenience compelling enough. Plus I think we look at too many screens throughout the day.