First bookless library to open in Texas

January 14, 2013

For many university students today, online books and journals – and their often more accessible search functions -have completely replacedpaper versions. Now, a public library is following that trend in San Antonio, Texas by creating a library without books.

The University of Texas at San Antonio opened its first “paperless library,” with all computers and online resources and no books, in 2010, making it the first paperless academic library in the country. With the success of UTSA’s library, the same idea will be extended to the city’s “BiblioTech,” the country’s first paperless public library.

With so many potential changes regarding online documents, especially the laws about what is available or not, libraries may be forced to be more flexible with their resources as hardcover books become less popular. And as online resources and e-books become the norm, libraries may consider using bulk scanning services to build their own “BiblioTech” and create a similar library.

According to KENS5.com, a San Antonio and-nation-186563801.html” target=”_blank”>news source, the library is set to open at the end of this year and will be built in an office currently used by the city in the southern region of San Antonio.

The plans show a computer lab-like design, as well as librarians to help users find documents and check out books on their e-readers. The library will also lend out e-readers – like Kindles or Nooks – for members to check out.

Officials at the BiblioTech are prepared to make changes, but stated that this is just the beginning. “The better digital readers get, the more people will read online,” Krisellen Maloney, the dean of the UTSA libraries told the news source.

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