BiblioTech: The First Bookless Library

The Bexar County, Texas satellite office. The future home  the first bookless library. Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News

You knew it was coming and I am not sure how it is going to last but here it is.

The first bookless public library system in America. 


The name is a play on the Spanish word for library — biblioteca.


artist’s conception of what the interior of the BiblioTech

It was the brainchild of Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff who got the idea while reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs.

“It’s not a replacement for the (city) library system, it’s an enhancement,” says Wolff who also happens to be a book collector.


The library hopes to secure at least $250,000 to acquire the first 10,000 titles. There will also be 100 e-readers available for checkout.


“We wanted to find a low-cost, effective way to bring reading and learning to the county and also focus on the change in the world of technology…It will help people learn,” said Wolff.