University of Texas at San Antonio opens bookless library on university campus

From KnowledgeSPEAK.com:

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has announced that it has opened its Applied Engineering and Technology (AET) Library, projected as the US' first completely bookless brick-and-mortar library on a college or university campus. The 80-person capacity library, which caters to UTSA's College of Sciences and College of Engineering students, is a satellite to the university's larger John Peace Library.

Electronic research is stated to be central to UTSA's AET Library. Instead of storing printed volumes, the library offers students a collection of electronic resources including 425,000 e-books and 18,000 e-journal subscriptions. Skilled science and engineering librarians are available during library hours to help students who need research assistance.

UTSA's electronic library is said to be quickly catching on with students, who are finding that library staff is more available to assist them now that it does not have to circulate and re-shelf books. The publications students want to read are also more accessible, because the online format allows many students to simultaneously access the same volume.

The trend to move higher education library collections online began in October 2000, when Kansas State University opened its Fiedler Engineering Library. The branch library's collection is completely electronic, with the exception of a series of reference books and a few journals that are unavailable electronically. Earlier this year, Stanford University continued the trend when it removed all but 10,000 printed volumes from its Engineering Library.

UTSA designed its bookless library to engage students in an online format within a contemporary new space. The library features ultra modern furniture and space age décor as well as 10 desktop computers, a printer, a scanner and five large LCD screens. To support student study sessions and spontaneous collaboration, the library also offers a series of group study niches and three group study rooms outfitted with whiteboards. The spaces seek to reflect an emphasis on teamwork, communications and problem solving, skills integral to the success of professional engineers and scientists.

With the e-library now open, UTSA is exploring ways to take the bookless concept even further. In the next few months, it expects to start providing pre-loaded collections of e-books on e-reader devices like the iPad or Kindle for students to check out and take home.