First US Public Library With No Paper Books Opens In Texas

[Recursion]

http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/01/04/1942207/first-us-public-library-with-no-paper-books-opens-in-texas

Bexar Country in Texas has opened a new $2.3 million library called BiblioTech. It doesn't have physical books, only computers and e-reader tablets. It is the first bookless public library system in the U.S. The library opened in an area without nearby bookstores, and is receiving considerable attention. It has drawn visitors from around the U.S. and overseas that are studying the concept for their own use. It appears that the library will have more than 100,000 visitors by year's end. Going without physical books has been cost effective from an architecture standpoint, since the building doesn't have to support the weight of books and bookshelves. A new, smaller library in a nearby town cost $1 million more than Bexar Country's new library. So far there doesn't appear to be a problem with returning checked out e-readers. A new state law in Texas defines the failure to return library books as theft.

I know people my age are supposed to axiomatically stick with the idea that "physical books are better than e-books", but that seems less and less like a good argument to me. Physical books take up physical space and have physical mass; they can't be easily searched or annotated in a non-destructive way; copying them is costly in time and materials. You can fit thousands of ebooks on an SD card; they are completely indexed down to the individual word and instantly searchable; you can annotate them per-user without harming them (and even share those annotations with others); they are much better for citations and references. The only advantage I can think of for the paper book is the pretty cool biofeedback that tells you how far along in the book you are (how much your left hand is holding vs. your right).

Anyways, despite the inevitable chorus of haters, I think this is a cool idea. Though we do need to get publishers to make ebooks more affordable for libraries.

[joshcryer]

1. Wonderful.

[CFLDem]

2. About time!

[snooper2]

3. This thread should be good...

"Fuck, I hate Texas, I need to shit on this idea..."

but

"If it were in Lansing, I'd be for it.."


WHAT TO DO!

[Recursion]

5. I just want somebody to say we went wrong when we ditched scrolls for these new-fangled "books" (nt)

[MindMover]

7. There are just some people in Texas that you "hate" ...

not Texas itself ... I know because I feel the same way about certain Texans ....

[babylonsister]

4. Oye. What a lousy idea. nt

[tammywammy]

6. Interesting idea. I read on my Kindle all the time. n/t

[dem in texas]

8. There is a place for both ebooks and paper books

Ebooks are great for research and finding info. But nothing can beat curling up in bed with a good paperback murder mystery.

[Skittles]

10. I echo you exactly

LOVES my 1/2 priced murder mystery books - I use them to drift into sleep

[Iris]

9. There have been some studies that suggest reading comprehension is better with print books

The physical pages help readers, particularly children, remember and recall information they read better.

Of course, human beings are adaptable and a duplicate study might have different results in the near future.

[tammywammy]

11. For me if I'm reading for deep comprehension and learning I do best with paper books.

I read a lot on my Kindle, but that's my leisure reading. I was doing a presentation on the book The Big Short, and the subject matter while presented in a more layman style is still complicated. Plus I was being to go back and forth between pages. I started with a copy on my Kindle, but soon moved to a paper copy when I realized I wasn't retaining what I read very well.

I've read that even having the blue links like on Wikipedia interferes with actual retention.

Edited to add: I think the new Kindle paper white is supposed to alleviated the issues with screens vs paper and better for comprehension and retention.

[longship]

12. The Big Short is an awesome book.

Michael Lewis gets to the core of what he calls the "doomsday machine" that brought down the world's economy.

An astoundingly great read.

[tammywammy]

13. Agreed, I liked it a lot.

Very well written. I've recommended it to others and surprisingly it was actually recommended to me before I was assigned to that book. Plus I got an A on my presentation.

[longship]

15. Eisman: Dip, shlurp, dip shlurp.

(Eisman double dipping into the sauce.)

And the iconic Eisman interaction with the Japanese investment firm:

"In Japan it is not customary for management to own stock," he said at length.

Eisman noted that the guy's financial statements didn't actually disclose any of the really important details about the guy's company; but, rather than simply say that, he lifted the statement in the air, as if disposing of a turd. "This... this is toilet paper," he said. "Translate that."

"The Japanese guy takes off his glasses," recalled a witness to the strange encounter. "His lips were quivering. World War Three is about to break out. 'Toy-lay paper? Toy-lay paper?'"

So it goes. Lewis gets to the core of the doomsday machine by telling such compelling stories featuring such incredible characters. Of course, how could any such narrative bypass Steve Eisman. Or Michael Burris. Or the others who saw the fact the whole damned economy was about to collapse.

It's one of the best reads.

[phleshdef]

14. Digital in general is better for the environment.

[hobbit709]

17. Paper as opposed to plastic, metals-some toxic, rare earths, etc.

The batteries wear out in a couple of years. Then you have to get a new ereader if it doesn't have a replaceable battery pack.

[frazzled]

16. Being "searchable" is not the same as being "indexed"

except in the most basic kind of way.

For more: http://newkindofbook.com/2011/09/missing-entry-whither-the-ebook-index/

[PowerToThePeople]

18. The Right to Read.

.....
This put Dan in a dilemma. He had to help her—but if he lent her his computer, she might read his books. Aside from the fact that you could go to prison for many years for letting someone else read your books, the very idea shocked him at first. Like everyone, he had been taught since elementary school that sharing books was nasty and wrong—something that only pirates would do.

And there wasn't much chance that the SPA—the Software Protection Authority—would fail to catch him. In his software class, Dan had learned that each book had a copyright monitor that reported when and where it was read, and by whom, to Central Licensing. (They used this information to catch reading pirates, but also to sell personal interest profiles to retailers.) The next time his computer was networked, Central Licensing would find out. He, as computer owner, would receive the harshest punishment—for not taking pains to prevent the crime.

Of course, Lissa did not necessarily intend to read his books. She might want the computer only to write her midterm. But Dan knew she came from a middle-class family and could hardly afford the tuition, let alone her reading fees. Reading his books might be the only way she could graduate. He understood this situation; he himself had had to borrow to pay for all the research papers he read. (Ten percent of those fees went to the researchers who wrote the papers; since Dan aimed for an academic career, he could hope that his own research papers, if frequently referenced, would bring in enough to repay this loan.)

Later on, Dan would learn there was a time when anyone could go to the library and read journal articles, and even books, without having to pay. There were independent scholars who read thousands of pages without government library grants. But in the 1990s, both commercial and nonprofit journal publishers had begun charging fees for access. By 2047, libraries offering free public access to scholarly literature were a dim memory.
........
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. Texas, how ironic and supremely appropriate. n/t

[FatBuddy]

20. part of being a critical reader

is having the ability to physically make marks on the text itself.

[logosoco]

21. I just rented an e book from my library for my Kindle.

I loved the idea that I did not even have to leave home to do it, this weather makes it even better to have access.
I still love my books on my bookcase, there is something physically and visually pleasing about them. And I can't pass up the book stacks at yard sales!
So I will probably be half and half reader!
I was very happy to note when looking through the collection that there were 19 people with a hold on Willie Nelson's book "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" (I own a hard copy) and NONE for Donald Rumsfield's book!

[kentauros]

22. Cool!!!

I love reading about things like that, and support it wholeheartedly. If Joe Konrath hasn't heard yet, I'll have to send him a note on this. He's already featured at least two Texas librarians from Harris County (Houston) on how they began adding ebooks to the system (and have been doing it for at least a year and a half now!)

So, for those that are surprised to see Texas do something as forward-thinking as this, I can only figure you don't live here

[cally]

23. The lifespan of digital content is much less than paper materials

so the library may save in initial building and storage costs but will have to pay much more in the future to maintain the material. Also, corporations own the digital material. Libraries have to pay annual fees to corporations for the use of the materials...they do not own it under almost all the agreements. It costs the libraries more in general to provide digital materials.

Finally, it's easier to look at a printed book on a shelf without leaving a use record. Think about a young teen exploring new ideas wanting to peruse books on subjects not acceptable to parents or religious leaders. Much less able to do that when leaving a computer trail.

I do much of my reading on an ereader and I love electronic collections for research but I don't fool myself that it's better for our collective knowledge. I want libraries to have physical collections and electronic records.

[Romulox]

24. There's no purpose for a physical locus to access electronic data. It's a waste, at best. nt