17 replies to this topic

[Render]

Quote

If your idea of a library is row upon row of nicely shelved hardcovers, then you'll be in for a surprise when a planned new library in San Antonio opens this fall.
"Think of an Apple store," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says while explaining the layout of the new library, BiblioTech.
In keeping with technological advances, the county will house a library of neatly arranged LCD screens and gadgets instead of the traditional banquet of dog-eared print and paper books. The public library will be one of the first digital-only libraries of its kind.
With 50 computer terminals and a stock of laptops and tablets on-site, the building will also offer an array of preloaded e-readers available for the card-carrying customer to take home.
"The library is a chance to expand the scope of opportunities for people to learn technology," Wolff explains. "The world is changing."

http://www.npr.org/2...ookless-library

[Asadora]

I suppose the 'end of the world' looters will have a reason to go to the library.

[Taun]

This is probably the wave of the future... but I still like the feel of a REAL book in my hands...

[questionmark]

While I will really miss the smell, the touch and the feel of a real book I have to confess that I am reading more and more on the tablet and computer screen, so I guess that is the future.

[Taun]

Another advantage to a real book is that while browsing to find something to read... The cover, or something physical about the book/binding will catch your eye and you will read something you might not have ever read before... With a digital "book", you are much more likely to just get the book that you were looking for at the time - less serendipitous discoveries...

[Beckys_Mom]

questionmark, on 16 January 2013 - 01:34 PM, said:

While I will really miss the smell, the touch and the feel of a real book I have to confess that I am reading more and more on the tablet and computer screen, so I guess that is the future.

Yes because we are living in a digital age..  More people tend to lean on the tablets for reading as many books as they can.. It seems handy

At present though, my daughter still is book mad..She loves the idea going off to her book fair and reading..  I'd say in years to come, she may go with the times ..

My dad however grew up with nothing but books.. He spent most of his life reading and had us doing the same.. I don't think he would reach for the tablet at any time soon though.. I think he is stuck in his old ways of hoking out a good book and reading it... He used to educate us when we were small with book from all sorts of subjects  ( Geography, science, history etc ) ..  He always said - Best way to get educated is to read books .. ...

[THE MATRIX]

Feel sorry for the young boys. Without books and magazines just makes it harder for them to hide their playboys and penthouse magazines in.

Edited by THE MATRIX, 17 January 2013 - 07:06 AM.

[Paracelse]

It's going to be difficult to put bookmarks on certain pages and underline some elements of the book for research purposes... or have someone clean screens after each readers..... not mention another thing.  How to take the book home?
Even worse! Imagine for a second going to the library.  You check out the book you going to read placing it on your tablet.  The orignal copy is still at the library but you have yours to read at home.  You come back 2 months later and a grumpy library lady (somehow libraries always have a grumpy lady hidden somewhere) and she comes to you and says:  You are a month overdue on the book return... no ma'am it's still here I saw it.. no you took it... no it's here no you took it ... ad nauseum



Forgot to say.. hope it's not become a trend to fast... I'm a rare book dealer and I would be out of business.

Edited by Paracelse, 17 January 2013 - 07:26 AM.

[and then]

Paracelse, on 17 January 2013 - 07:25 AM, said:

It's going to be difficult to put bookmarks on certain pages and underline some elements of the book for research purposes... or have someone clean screens after each readers..... not mention another thing.  How to take the book home?
Even worse! Imagine for a second going to the library.  You check out the book you going to read placing it on your tablet.  The orignal copy is still at the library but you have yours to read at home.  You come back 2 months later and a grumpy library lady (somehow libraries always have a grumpy lady hidden somewhere) and she comes to you and says:  You are a month overdue on the book return... no ma'am it's still here I saw it.. no you took it... no it's here no you took it ... ad nauseum



Forgot to say.. hope it's not become a trend to fast... I'm a rare book dealer and I would be out of business.

I think the experience of savoring books,  the rare book especially, will always be there.  If anything, it might boost your business in years to come.

[Kafkaesque]

My dad recently read The Hobbit on my mom's Kindle, and he barely reads any more.

While I think it's cool you can store numerous books and download books on these devices, I'm not ready for that leap quite yet.

I have a library in the downstairs of my house and a library in my room. I love books too much to go virtual just yet.

[acidhead]

Computer technology doesn't exceed the old.  The old way is the safe way.

Just the other day I walked into a gas station to purchase gasoline for my truck.  The computers were down.   I had cash.  Everybody else around had plastic cards and were swearing.

[Orcseeker]

I hate reading books off a screen. Anything with large amounts of text I very much prefer reading off a physical copy rather than staring at a screen for extended periods of time.

[Taun]

I must confess that I do own a 'Nook' (similar to Kindle), and I do use it from time to time, but only in places where I can not take a book (like at work on the night shift - books are frowned upon but a 'Nook' is easier to get out of the bosses sight   )... Plus I can download schematics, network diagrams and tech manuals on my Nook and have it as a very handy reference tool for trouble shooting systems...

So I do like the devices, just not crazy about the idea of an actual physical library for these systems...

[Beckys_Mom]

acidhead, on 17 January 2013 - 08:08 AM, said:

Computer technology doesn't exceed the old.  The old way is the safe way.

Just the other day I walked into a gas station to purchase gasoline for my truck.  The computers were down.   I had cash. Everybody else around had plastic cards and were swearing.

Did any of them try to leg it out of there before the computers went back up again and they got free gas ?  lol I kid..

[G Donnelly]

Grrrr.. What sacrilege and heresy...

Well it looks like all the literature is going to be stored on floppy disks.
I blame those pesky kids with their gigabytes,megabytes and OMG's.
It's their fault they have ostracised us readers.
I for one isn't a happy bunny and we should start some kind of campaign to save the printed format.
If WH Smith ever goes into adminsteration I'll be wearing a black armband.
It's the Luddite in me that's making me seethe inside.

Edited by Medium Brown, 17 January 2013 - 10:07 PM.