Nation's first bookless public library system opens
Quote:
The nation’s first all-digital, book-free public library system has opened in San Antonio, with patrons lining up to peruse on online catalog on Apple touch screen computers and check out books on e-readers.
Library mavens from across the U.S. and from as far away as Hong Kong came to view the library this week, according to an Associated Press report.
The Bexar County Digital Library, also known as BiblioTech, is located in south San Antonio and is the only public library operated by the county government. (The city of San Antonio, located within Bexar County, operates its own system). It was built with $1.9 million in county tax money and $500,000 in private donations. Time magazine said it “looks like an orange-hued Apple store and is stocked with 10,000 e-books, 500 e-readers, 48 computers, and 20 iPads and laptops.”
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What struck me most about this new library, was its catalog - its very small. Only 10,000 ebooks and 400 audiobooks. That's not much for a large county library. Hopefully, they'll expand their collection. What's noticably missing is OverDrive. Instead, they're using 3M Cloud Library for ebooks, OneClick Digital for audiobooks, and Zinio for magazines. Checkout limit is five books. eBooks can be kept for 14 days, audiobooks for 10 days, and magazines have no time limits.
In addition to its digital collection, they also have - 48 computer stations, 10 laptops, 600 ereaders, and 40 tablets. The ereaders can be checked out for 14 days.
This is the future and more of these libraries are sure to pop up.