A Library With No Books? Hmm...

What would you think if you walked into your local library and you encountered a modern interior that resembles an Apple store complete with aisles of computers and other electronic gadgets, instead of shelves with all kinds of exciting books? In San Antonio's Bexar County, a new kind of public library is scheduled to open sometime this year.  It is exactly the vision Nelson Wolff has for BiblioTech.

The judge from Texas says that he loves physical books but, he believes that it is time to bring the library system in the direction in which the world is rapidly heading (E-books!) So… The library will have over 10,000 e-titles for patrons to browse through and even download onto their own e-readers, this will take over all of the physical books. For the people who do not yet have access to an e-reading device, such as an iPad or Kindle don’t worry, there will be a total of 150 e-readers available to borrow, 50 of which, will be reserved for kids! The library will also provide 25 tablets, 25 laptops and 50 computer stations for people to enjoy.

One day they hope that the book selection will be a hi-tech version and can be as robust as the one found in a traditional library, therefore the number of books will be added annually, so that one day this might be able to happen. This will not be the first library to go without books. In 2002 Arizona's Tucson-Pima Public Library System was the first to open a small book-less branch, however there were lots of requests from locals saying that the library succumbed and added physical books because it was located in an area where most people did not have access too.

In the city of Newport Beach in California, tried to transform its existing library into a book-less one. But the public did not take it too well and the officials ultimately abandoned the idea in 2011. The one place this type of library seems to be working really well is the University of Texas in Austin, where the students love having a library that contains only e-titles.

So is everyone ready for a book-less library? Only time will tell. If the library goes ahead, the judge will be able to open similar libraries in many more locations in the county. What do you think of this library? Let me know!