Bookless Public Library Opens In Texas

[didymus]

from NPR:

Bookless Public Library Opens In Texas

An all-digital public library is opening today, as officials in Bexar County, Texas, celebrate the opening of the BiblioTech library. The facility offers about 10,000 free e-books for the 1.7 million residents of the county, which includes San Antonio.
On its website, the explains how its patrons can access free eBooks and audio books. To read an eBook on their own device, users must have the 3M Cloud Library app, which they can link to their library card.
The app includes a countdown of days a reader has to finish a book — starting with 14 days, according to My San Antonio.

The library has a physical presence, as well, with 600 e-readers and 48 computer stations, in addition to laptops and tablets. People can also come for things like kids’ story time and computer classes, according to the library’s website.
A county official compared the concept to an Apple store, in a report on the library’s plans by in January.

And Reema reported that the idea of a bookless library has been tried before — perhaps a bit too early. That was in 2002, when Arizona’s Santa Rosa Branch Library went digital-only.
“Years later, however, residents — fatigued by the electronics — requested that actual books be added to the collection, and today, enjoy a full-access library with computers,” Reema said.

Abomination! An e-library is no library at all.
How does on browse the stacks? Discover a new author or subject that would never have turned up in your search?

Also this library has be way more expensive than one with physical books. Publishers are demanding that libraries re-buy ebooks after being lent 20-25 times (forget exactly). They claim this is the lifetime of a printed book which is a damned lie. I’ve borrowed repaired & rebound library books more than 20 years old.

ARRGGHHHH! Ebooks are fine, but long live paper!

 

[adawgj]

I’m with you, long live paper.

 

[jediliz]

I use my eReader for reading now a days cause my large Bookcase is FULL OF BOOKS…there is no more room…

I think this is a good idea…the only issue is…if there aren’t enough copies of a certain book for rental…you have to be on a waiting list…just like with real paper books. My local library (which still has REAL books) added ebooks on a special site linked to their site…but I didn’t see ANY books I would borrow, so I buy my eBooks.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Abomination! An e-library is no library at all.
How does on browse the stacks? Discover a new author or subject that would never have turned up in your search?

Even with a combination of print and electronic, browsing the stacks is no longer a good way of locating things. Learn how to browse the catalog – the librarian will be happy to show you.

Also this library has be way more expensive than one with physical books. Publishers are demanding that libraries re-buy ebooks after being lent 20-25 times (forget exactly). They claim this is the lifetime of a printed book which is a damned lie. I’ve borrowed repaired & rebound library books more than 20 years old.

That all depends on licensing and what the library is willing to accept. We purchase e-books the same way we purchase print – a one-time charge and it is ours. And we don’t have to build new buildings to house them, we don’t have to shelve and reshelve them, we don’t have to search for them when they’re misshelved, and we don’t have to rebind them.

Welcome to the future.

 

[CorieDreams]

Can’t we have both?

 

[JimG]

I do use ebooks, although I’ve never borrowed them from the library–yet.

Still, due to my advanced age, I experience a sort of shock every time I enter a library. For years–decades–it would be filed with people quietly reading books in cubicles, chairs, or at desks. Now, it is filled with people sitting at computer terminals.

 

[3DOCTORS]

Even with a combination of print and electronic, browsing the stacks is no longer a good way of locating things. Learn how to browse the catalog – the librarian will be happy to show you.

But what about us folks who have discovered some of our favorite books ever due to pure serendipity? It’s not always a matter of knowing what you want beforehand - sometimes it’s something that jumps out at you, or you “know it when you see it.” :newidea:

The e-library is fine as an addition if people like it, but I hope it never completely replaces traditional libraries.

Welcome to the future.

 

[maryjk]

That all depends on licensing and what the library is willing to accept. We purchase e-books the same way we purchase print – a one-time charge and it is ours. And we don’t have to build new buildings to house them, we don’t have to shelve and reshelve them, we don’t have to search for them when they’re misshelved, and we don’t have to rebind them.

Welcome to the future.

And when the book is due, the library just takes it back. No late fees, no missing books, no “I dropped it in the tub.”

Right now, I have 4 print books and 2 ebooks checked out. For the print books, they will have to be returned. The ebooks? I don’t have that problem.

 

[didymus]

Just re-read the story & did a double-take on the first sentence:

An all-digital public library is opening today, as officials in Bexar County, Texas, celebrate the opening of the BiblioTech library. The facility offers about 10,000 free e-books for the 1.7 million residents of the county, which includes San Antonio.

Ten thousand is not very impressive, especially since the vast majority books of books, even those by popular authors have not been digitised.

I also wonder how they are going to deal with inter-library loans? If I request a pre-digital book will they order it for me? Or tell me “we don’t do paper”?

 

[maryjk]

Just re-read the story & did a double-take on the first sentence:

Ten thousand is not very impressive, especially since the vast majority books of books, even those by popular authors have not been digitised.

I also wonder how they are going to deal with inter-library loans? If I request a pre-digital book will they order it for me? Or tell me “we don’t do paper”?

Most likely they will do the same thing our library does.

There is no such thing as an inter-library loan.

Or as you said, they aren’t a paper library. So, they will tell you, “We don’t do paper.”

The same thing a Barber Shop will tell you if you go in for a manicure. “We don’t do nails.” Or an auto shop tells you if you are looking for bread. Or the same thing Town Hall would tell you if you tried to drop off your garbage.

Not every establishment has to serve every need.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Right now, I have 4 print books and 2 ebooks checked out. For the print books, they will have to be returned. The ebooks? I don’t have that problem.

When it comes to the public library, I find myself much preferring electronic. When a title is available only in print I have a tendency to put off getting it since it means making a trip to the library. Actually two trips since I’ll need to return it as well, though once there’s a rhythm going you pick up something new when you return something you’ve read. I can also check out e-books 24/7. As long as I have Internet access I can check out something to read even if I’m far from home.

I also wonder how they are going to deal with inter-library loans? If I request a pre-digital book will they order it for me? Or tell me "we don’t do paper?

ILL is an issue. Again, it’s one of those things that depends on the license the library has signed. In some cases we can send individual chapters, in others we can’t. The aggregators tend not to allow that (as opposed to individual publisher platforms). The aggregators will usually do short-term loans for a small fee. The overall cost i probably equivalent to the libraries’ costs in doing interlibrary loans.

 

[blanc10]

Most libraries out there now check out ebooks at no costs. My library purchases ebooks just like regular books and if those e-copies are borrowed, you have to wait for them to be returned. It’s primarily the same concept. I’m a very techy guy, I love technology, but I’m still a big fan of paper. I write my notes on paper, I get books in paper, and I have a standard paper journal.

I really doubt paper books will go anywhere. I’m pretty sure that ebooks and regular books will end up coexisting at some point.

 

[didymus]

Most likely they will do the same thing our library does.

There is no such thing as an inter-library loan.

Or as you said, they aren’t a paper library. So, they will tell you, “We don’t do paper.”

The same thing a Barber Shop will tell you if you go in for a manicure. “We don’t do nails.” Or an auto shop tells you if you are looking for bread. Or the same thing Town Hall would tell you if you tried to drop off your garbage.

Those are just about silliest, most inapt analogies I’ve ever read.
How about it’s like an auto shop that no longer does repairs but has converted to a Kwik-Lube?

Not every establishment has to serve every need.

No.
But libraries serve a need to provide free access to books (and nowadays music & video as well).
Not just to the public who have Nooks, Kindles and PCs.
And not just to books that have been digitised.
And also those whose interests are limited to the current best seller list plus whatever is public domain.

Libraries are also a public memory. I used to ( and still) find an author or a subject and delve into it, largely reading books out of print. Sometimes an author will become an “overnight bestseller” leaving his earlier works languishing. Paper libraries may be the only place they can easily be found.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

How about it’s like an auto shop that no longer does repairs but has converted to a Kwik-Lube?

And that’s more or less what you have here. It’s not a full-service library. It’s a small collection meeting a particular need. If you need more than a lube job you go to a different garage and if you need more than a small e-collection you go to a different library.

And also those whose interests are limited to the current best seller list plus whatever is public domain.

You realize that e-books include scholarly titles, reference works, and other materials, right? Public libraries probably aren’t buying them any more than they buy scholarly titles in print, but that doesn’t mean they’re not available.

You’re so anti-electronic. No one is forcing you to read online. But for many reasons, both user preference and practical library issues like space, more and more information will be accessible in e-form.

 

[didymus]

You realize that e-books include scholarly titles, reference works, and other materials, right? Public libraries probably aren’t buying them any more than they buy scholarly titles in print, but that doesn’t mean they’re not available.

You’re so anti-electronic. No one is forcing you to read online. But for many reasons, both user preference and practical library issues like space, more and more information will be accessible in e-form.

No, I’m not a brainless Luddite. I have a Nook and since getting it I’ve bought more books than ever.

BUT e-publishing is nowhere near being able to replace paper books and that goes double for libraries.

 

[Joe_5859]

ARRGGHHHH! Ebooks are fine, but long live paper!

…He types from his computer on a digital message board.

 

[Captain_America]

Vastly prefer books. Sorry. Tech’s nice, but only in its place. Printed matterr is so cheap and convenient and long-lasting.

This argument was won about 10 years ago by print.

Where else but Texas can you find a bookless library: pretty soon they’ll be issuing bookless books.