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BiblioTech

Cool.

It sounds like an oxymoron, but come the fall of 2013, San Antonio’s Bexar County is going to be home to the BiblioTech, the country’s first book-less public library. Of course, there will be books—just e-books, not physical books.

The 4,989 square-foot space will look like a modern library, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who was inspired to pursue the project after reading Walter Issacson’s Steve Jobs biography, told ABC News. (A glance at the photo shows that its inspired by Apple in more ways than one.) Instead of aisles and aisles of books there will be aisles and aisles of computers and gadgets. At the start, it will have 100 e-readers available for circulation and to take out, and then 50 e-readers for children, 50 computer stations, 25 laptops and 25 tablets on site.

Posted by Owen at 1902 hrs
Technology

1. Sorry, but a lifetime of reading dead trees has inured me to the format.  My personal limit is about 3-5 pages online; more than that and it goes straight to the printer.

   I’ll never give up my dead trees.  Some I’ve had so long that I know them by their smell.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 14, 2013 at 2022 hrs
   
   
   

2. If books, movies, music, etc. migrate mostly to virtual media then what, exactly, is the role of a public library- other than to pay for patron access to electronic resources?

   The justification for taxpayer support of libraries has been to provide broad access to information and culture, yet the line between “culture” and “entertainment” must forever be blurry. Which is to say, why should I be taxed just so you can download movies via library instead of buying yourself a Netflix subscription?

   For that matter, the relationship between publishers and libraries changes with virtual media. Copyright limits publishers to the first sale doctrine for paper books- the buyer is free to sell or lend a paper book after buying it. But ebooks are usually licensed, not sold- and (DRM + DMCA) vastly increases publishers rights as compared with paper.

   Thus, even though publishers know that library circulation can reduce sales, they can’t stop a library from buying one paper copy at the retail price and then circulating it to many, many borrowers. Not so with ebooks- the publisher can insist on better terms, or simply refuse to sell (oops, I mean license) the work for library access.

   Of course, the American Library Association will insist that libraries have many roles beyond providing access to book stacks- they can be community centers, public computer labs, a performance venue, etc., etc. (is mission creep not endemic to all government functions?). BUT the taxpaying public must be willing to pay for all of this.

   So what, exactly, will the role of a public library be in an age in which media have mostly become virtual?

   And, would the public not be as well served if every citizen were given a cultural allowance (think of it as an EBS card for cultural products) instead?

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 0852 hrs
   
   
   

3. I prefer my dead trees too, but I love the play on words.  The German word for Library is Bibliothek(pronounced bibliotake, very close to bibliotek), the french is Bibliotheque.  I like reading without the need for batteries/electricity.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 0940 hrs
   
   
   

4. I think this is a great idea. I also hate reading on a computer screen but I love reading on my e-reader. If the two look the same to you, you need a better e-reader.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 1410 hrs
   
   
   

5. Turquas,

   While I absolutely agree with you about liking the feel of a paper book in my hands and the pages turning, I have to wonder:

   Do you only read during the day and in the evenings and nights by candlelight?  Oil lantern or fireplace light perhaps?

   Forgive me, I gave into temptation in posting this.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 1424 hrs
   
   
   

6. Yeah, I thought of that as I wrote it, but y’know, since I was diagnosed with diabetes, my eyes don’t read well unless sunlight assisted so I really do not read at night anymore(I used to read until dawn…sigh).  So it really is true right now.  Once I am ‘under control’ my eyes are supposed to stop whacking out.  We’ll see.

   When I was younger my validation would have been funnier:  making69.  It is still funny…

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 1605 hrs
   
   
   

7. My sympathies, sir.

   Having my reading hours curtailed like that would be a fate worse than death for a reader such as I.

   I wish for you the best of health, in general and specifically for this issue, as one avid bibliophile to another.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 1636 hrs
   
   
   

8. I actually love my e-reader, it has saved me numerous trips to the library.  I agree a printed book feels better, but I love the fact that I can find a new one without ever leaving the house.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 1924 hrs
   
   
   

9. I absolutely love the comfort, charm and familiarity of paper books.  And shelves full of them.  I love the feel of them in my hand, the way they smell.  I’ll probably always feel this way.

   But it’s got to be said: the better reading experience is to be had on the e-reader.  The lighting is more constant because the page is flat.  I can make notes.  I can, if I wish, see the input of others.  I can search!  Who is this character again?  I wonder how many times X is mentioned in this book?  Invaluable. 

   Those of you bemoaning reading “online” probably haven’t spent any real time with a modern e-reader.  What it lacks in charm it makes up for in utility.

   Anyway, what’s the purpose of libraries if not to house a collection of print materials?  Maybe it’s to house the technology to access electronic materials.  Even more importantly, it’s to house librarians.  They are invaluable research assistants.  Ask them anything!  They’re like a dog with a bone.  They won’t let it go until they find the answer.  I could not have survived college and grad school without them.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 15, 2013 at 2253 hrs
   
   
   

10. I wish for you the best of health, in general and specifically for this issue, as one avid bibliophile to another.

    Thank you very much.  I usually play games with my wife in the evening anyway and I can read with cheater glasses over my contacts in any light.

    Those of you bemoaning reading “online” probably haven’t spent any real time with a modern e-reader.  What it lacks in charm it makes up for in utility.

    I hope you didn’t include me in there.  I don’t bemoan it and I might be able to read an e-reader better.  But here I must admit my total ignorance.  I can’t get the internet at home without paying through the nose and it just isn’t worth it.  Add to that I don’t have a cell phone and I fully admit that tech outside work has passed me by.  Can you get/use an e-reader without the internet?  I am using cheater glasses to read/write this right now so I don’t think an e-reader would work for me anyway, but I don’t know.

    I love my shelves of books, and if no relative wants them when I die, I can live(die?) with that.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 16, 2013 at 1602 hrs
    
    
    

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