Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 11:30 am | Updated: 4:45 pm, Thu Oct 10, 2013.
By Julianne Pepitone |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - BiblioTech is a new library in Texas, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The library houses no physical books.
Staffers
at San Antonio's BiblioTech say it's the first "bookless library." And
in addition to its catalog of 10,000 e-books, this techy library also
provides a digital lifeline to a low-income neighborhood that sorely
needs it.
BiblioTech opened its doors Sept. 14
on the south side of San Antonio, a mostly Hispanic neighborhood where
40% of households don't have a computer and half lack broadband Internet
service.
Although
the library houses no printed books -- and members can even skip the
visit by checking out its e-books online -- BiblioTech's staff says the
library's physical presence is still key to its success.
"We're
finding that you really have to get your head around a paradigm shift,"
said Laura Cole, BiblioTech's special projects coordinator. "Our
digital library is stored in the cloud, so you don't have to come in to
get a book. But we're a traditional library in that the building itself
is an important community space."
That
4,800-square-foot space looks more like an Apple Store or a Google
breakroom than a library. It's decked out with funky orange walls, a
colorful play area for children complete with plush seats and glowing
screens, plus loads of devices available for in-library use: 45 Apple
iPads, 40 laptops and 48 desktop computers.
Members
checking out one of the 10,000 e-books -- provided through 3M's Cloud
Library service -- can borrow one of 600 stripped-down e-readers or 200
"enhanced" readers for children. Audiobooks and educational software are
also available.
BiblioTech's
efforts have attracted 7,000 members so far, and staffers relish
sharing anecdotes about the people who walk through their doors.
Cole
relayed a story about a young family's recent visit, during which the
twentysomething father revealed that the regular e-readers were of no
use to him; he couldn't read.
"One
of our staff offered him a children's reader, which is enhanced with
activities that help learn to read," Cole said. "He started shaking, and
his wife couldn't stop crying. It was a really profound experience for
him. And this is why we worked to start something like BiblioTech."
The
genesis of the idea came from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, a
self-described book fiend who felt libraries aren't evolving with
technology. Wolff gathered about a half-dozen county employees,
including Cole, to brainstorm ideas for a library that helped an
underserved neighborhood in a truly modern way. Last October, the group
began researching to find other libraries that had gone completely
digital -- but they couldn't find any.
"Not
all libraries are going to be like us, and we understand that," Wolff
said. "But we sure do hope it's going to drive them to do more to
evolve. The world is changing, and libraries can't stay the same. Not if
they want to stay relevant."
No comments:
Post a Comment