BiblioTech (Bexar County)

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BiblioTech is the first all-digital public library in the United States, serving residents of Bexar County, Texas. It opened on September 14, 2013, on the south side of San Antonio, with a project cost of about $2.3 million. The county now runs four branches and one satellite location.

Branches
- BiblioTech South — opened September 14, 2013 (south San Antonio)
- BiblioTech West — opened July 2015 (west San Antonio)
- BiblioTech East — opened April 2018 (east San Antonio)
- The Nelson and Tracy Wolff BiblioTech EDU — opened December 2022 near downtown San Antonio, serving county residents and students on the campus shared by Fox Tech, Cast Tech, and ALA

What it offers
- Lends e-readers and digital content instead of physical books
- E-readers are loaned to BiblioTech cardholders; about half are on loan at any time
- Cardholders can use the cloudLibrary app to read eBooks on personal devices (iOS, Android, Windows)
- Online databases, educational resources, programming, and touch-screen video tablets
- Access to digital content from several providers
- All resources are free for Bexar County residents

How it works
- BiblioTech is the first public all-digital library; many libraries on campuses have digital collections, but this is the first for the public
- The county saved money on building costs for books, storage, and furniture; the digital volumes cost about the same as physical books
- Some readers still prefer nondigital libraries, and critics say a digital-only model may lack the sensory appeal of shelves of real books

All resources are free to Bexar County residents.