Bexar County, Texas, has unveiled plans for what could become the nation’s first bookless public library. The initiative is being pushed forward by County Judge Nelson W. Wolff, who told The San Antonio Express News that he was inspired to develop a bookless library after reading Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Wolff, whose own personal library contains more than 1,000 printed and bound first editions, believes future generations will have little use for hardcover or paperback volumes. The library system, dubbed BiblioTech, proposes to make thousands of e-books available for county residents both online and at a 5,000-square-foot physical location on the South Side of the county, according to a statement issued by Bexar County officials. Visitors would be able to check out books to read on their own e-readers or tablets, or borrow one of the library’s 150 take-home e-readers.
