Bookless Library

[Jay]

I read on mysa.com today that San Antonio is opening a bookless library on the South Side later this year. While I totally get it (from a technological viewpoint), the notion that such a thing can even exist makes me feel old and lost and cold inside. In a couple dozen years, we will have a generation that will not know the touch or smell of paper and ink.

Oh well... onward and upward, I guess.

[Julia]

I totally understand your points, Jay. I read about half on my Kindle and half in print. There's some great articles on the Bibliotech bookless library on TPR and NPR radio.

I've been chatting with a school library friend, who uses both print and eBooks in her library. The teens she serves appreciate online databases to do research, but they aren't keen to use eReaders. They'd rather have a book to pass around or read quietly. I think we are in a world where sharing online ebooks is not easy, and that effects our natural tendency to share a good story.

While I love taking my eReader on trips, I miss the spontaneous conversation that happens when others see what I am reading from the book jacket. Sharing titles is great on Goodreads and at the library, but it's harder to browse eBooks, flip through the pages to find an intriguing passage, and "feel" the book itself. When it's a great story I'm still pulled in, regardless of format, to savor passages or race to the ending.

[Dan]

I'm going to wade into this discussion; first, as a guy who provides a lot of training and support for the digital library services that SAPL does offer: I think one of the most common misconceptions I encounter is the belief that eBooks and print books are mutually exclusive -- you choose a camp, and you read in one format or the other. This is completely untrue. Like Julia, I read as much in print format as I do in electronic format... and there's the keyword right there: "format." An eBook is just another format like a paperback, or an audio book on CD, or a hard cover, or a large print, or a foreign language edition... and you make a choice based on what format suits your tastes. I know at least on person who will not read books in paperback because he has trouble with the type size -- that format doesn't work for him, but eBook does because he can change the size of the font to his preference.

Now allow me to continue further; my comments from this point are not representative of the San Antonio Public Library, and these opinions are my own as a private citizen:

A "book-less" library brings up a philosophical question: is a library merely a collection of books? I own thousands of volumes, does that make me a library? No. I like to lend my books to my friends and neighbors; does that make me a library? No. A library is much more than a collection of books or a bank of computers... much, much more. Consider: I grew up in a single-parent, working class family where we were unable to afford much in the way of luxury. Out of necessity my mom denied my brother and I most of our wants, but she never denied us a trip to the library. The library became my refuge; much more than a collection of books -- a safe space for me to explore ideas, expand my knowledge, and (later, as a teen) a place to aid my community and share ideas with friends. When I was a kid, I had two dreams: one was to work at the library, and the other was to have my book in the library -- one of those dreams came true. A library supports literacy, but it also provides a gateway where knowledgeable people will help you find the best answers to your questions. A library provides programming like story times, and book clubs, and serves as a community meeting space. You can learn crafts and hobbies at a library. You can learn to dance or play the guitar. Libraries help people learn English, and connect them with the resources they need to navigate the naturalization process... and there's plenty more... much of which has little to do with books on a shelf.

An entirely book-less, electronic library makes all kinds of sense for an academic setting: textbooks are absurdly expensive and new editions are issued frequently. eBook formats are perfect because producing them doesn't cost much money and they can be updated much more easily. Public libraries though are a completely different beast. Eventually, yes, print books are probably going to go away... magazines and newspapers will go first because electronic delivery of those is far more efficient and cost effective; but print books will be with us for a while yet I believe. So I wouldn't begin my lament just yet. Sure the library is changing, and the publishing industry is changing as well. Much of this is controversial because the publishing industry is slow to change and adapt their way of doing business; and quite frankly, libraries haven't done much better... but they're trying. Change is inevitable; in fact "change" can be called the one true constant in the universe -- we don't have to like it, but it's going to happen anyway... the "good old days" give way to the "good new days;" just don't forget that we human beings have survived this long due to our adaptability. It will be a few generations at least until the true and absolute demise of print books. Take a look a this article: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/tec... (sorry, you'll have to copy and paste the link because the text box had issues with the HTML code).

In particular take a look at the chart from the Pew Research Center... the data is a little old, but I would still caution anyone about readying a funeral for print books. Most importantly: keep in mind what sort of news attracts an audience -- folks typically go in for a more sensationalized story, so if the news can be spun to sound like the "end of the world is nigh," news outlets will likely have their plucky newscasters take that tack.

My final piece of advice is this: stop worrying and enjoy a book.

Cheers!

[Beverly]

So during this "shelter in place" time, and with the local libraries closed, I finally started trying out digital audiobooks, and discovered that I really liked them. I would listen to them while I was working on a jigsaw puzzle, or doing household chores, etc. So during the last two months, I have probably listened to about a dozen digital audiobooks, adult and teen mostly.

[Nancy]

Beverly, I’m curious. What draws you to the young adult or teen books? Have you found any that appeal both to adults and older teens?
Nancy West

[Beverly]

Nancy wrote: "Beverly, I’m curious. What draws you to the young adult or teen books? Have you found any that appeal both to adults and older teens?
Nancy West"

The same thing draws me to teen books as to adult books--a good story, well-written, with interesting characters.
As for teen books that appeal to adults, it depends on what genres you like to read. I see that you are a mystery writer, so I assume you like reading mysteries.
One mystery series for teens that an adult might like as well is the Enola Holmes series (Enola is Sherlock Holmes younger sister).
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer is one title in the series.
If you like mysteries combined with the supernatural--ghosts, etc.--the Lockwood & Co series is awesome.
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is one title in the series.
The Forensic Mysteries was also a really interesting series. The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson is the first in the series.

[Nancy]

Beverly, thanks for the leads. I’m not too interested in the supernatural, but the rest sound interesting. I’m working on a novel of domestic suspense about the effects of divorce on a family with an eighteen-year-old boy. It also includes a mystery.
The forensic mysteries sound especially interesting.

[Beverly]

Nancy wrote: "The forensic mysteries sound especially interesting. ..."

They are, but the author only wrote 4 books in the series. I would have liked to have read more in this series, but that's all she wrote.