The first digital-only library in the US raises key questions about the broader purpose of a library
The city of San Antonio,
Texas, recently announced that the first fully digital public library in the US
will open in Bexar County later this year: a library that won't contain a single
book. The facility, part of a planned state-wide bookless system called
BiblioTech, is modelled on an Apple store rather than a traditional library, but
it will retain all the important features: more than 100 e-readers available to
borrow, with more than 10,000 ebooks – and visitors can
bring their own devices, too.
Ebooks and libraries don't always mix
well. Many libraries still mark a borrowed ebook as "out" (and therefore
unavailable to other readers) just like a paper book, despite the electronic
copy's infinite reproducibility. Others insist readers visit the actual building
to download and "check out" ebooks. In 2011, HarperCollins tried to stipulate
that its ebooks could only be borrowed
26 times. After this, the file would self-destruct, in accordance with the
belief that this is the average lifespan of a worn-and-torn paper lending
copy.
But there is no equivalent of public space online, which is too susceptible to corporate and technocratic control, and so the physical institution remains essential. The bookless library is not a contradiction in terms, but a continuation of the library's core purpose, providing access to knowledge and information, and a public statement of the value of that access.
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