Nation's first "bookless" library on San Antonio's South Side (look for a job, income)

[SATX56]

San Antonio's South Side will have the nation's first bookless library soon. Set to open it's doors by the end of the year. BiblioTech will have the capacity for about 50 on-site users, with around 25 laptops and tablets for public use.
Additionally, about 165 e-readers will be available, some of which will have advanced features including text-to-speech software and animation.




Read more here...

Bookless library BiblioTech set to open in South Side - San Antonio Express-News

[hohogirl]

yah lets give $100 tablets to southsiders this will end well.

also i though utsa had a bookless library?

[BenjaminNicholas]

Most idiotic idea I've ever heard. Libraries are supposed to be filled with books. Let's not get away from the printed page folks... If it was good enough for Gutenberg, it's still good enough for us.


BN

[rynetwo]

Why not downtown? And yes BN the stupidest idea ever for the location and idea.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Even if people just go there to use the internet, it will be a useful resource on a side of town that doesn't have too many. It's almost impossible to look for a job without the internet. Kids need it for homework too and sometimes the parents can't afford it. So it's not a bad idea or location.

Reading through the article, which it sounds like most people did not do, it says that it will be run by the county, rather than the city, using a building that the county already has and using leftover county funds. So that explains why it has no books, the county can't afford them. But if you call it a free internet cafe for the Southside, then people will get grouchy, so lets call it a bookless library. Then it will sound like it's missing something and nobody will complain too much when the southside gets it

Besides, everyone who's here complaining about it at 10:30 pm clearly has internet available at home, so it's not like you're missing out on a resource just so they can put it on the southside.

[SATX56]

It appears the south side pays the highest property tax rates in the city. So if funds were to come from that then how could one claim that another area is more deserving?

[hohogirl]

Originally Posted by SATX56

It appears the south side pays the highest property tax rates in the city. So if funds were to come from that then how could one claim that another area is more deserving?

higher tax rate does not mean more income into the system.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by hohogirl

higher tax rate does not mean more income into the system.

Either way, I think it's a waste of $$ as are many things I could name.

[elnina]

While it's a great idea to set up a multi-computer stations for those who do not own any or have no access to it, I would not call it a library,
except all they will offer is just books online ( no regular Internet surfing, jobs sites etc.)
But then, who would really want to go there to ... just read books???

[Bo]

BTW, the assertion in the thread title is wrong. This will be the nation's only bookless public library system.

UTSA and a few other higher education institutions around the country have bookless libraries on their campuses, as part of a larger system of campus libraries that use books.

Tucson, Arizona opened a bookless public library branch in 2002, but eventually abandoned the notion and added books. Newport Beach, California announced plans to convert its library system to a bookless one, but public sentiment against the idea prevented them from following through with the idea.

Bexar set to turn the page on idea of books in libraries - San Antonio Express-News

To be clear, this is a project of Bexar County, setting up a separate library system from the SA Public Library system. It's a Nelson Wolff initiative.