Bexar Bibliotech — Nathan Lott's Apple Thoughts

Did you know that San Antonio hosts two separate public library systems? There is the San Antonio Public Library, of course, with its central library plus 29 branches, but there is also Bexar Bibliotech which is an entirely digital library that has three physical locations in San Antonio. Bibliotech South is located on

Pleasanton Rd off of SW Military drive. Bibliotech West is on Zarzamora just north of 151. The newest location

is on the East Side on the corner of Walters and Burnet. If you ever have to serve jury duty, there is also a

Bibliotech booth in the jury waiting room to loan out e-readers. Current residents of Bexar County are eligible

to get a library card either online or in person at any of the branches.

The mission of Bexar Bibliotech is to provide all Bexar County residents technology access to enhance education and literacy, promote reading as recreation, and equip all members of our community with necessary tools to thrive as citizens of the digital age. The experience of stepping in to a Bibliotech branch is

that first you are met with rows of iMac computers. Users can use the computers or check out laptops or tablets for two 60 minute sessions a day. There are also meeting rooms available as well as children's rooms where kids can play console video games. Laptops and tablets are only available for in-library use. Another service Bibliotech renders is that they will loan out e-readers for adults and children. For adults there is the Kindle Fire and the Nook Glowlight. Only the Kindle Fire will let you check out books from home. The Nook Glowlight can have books added on by Bibliotech staff. The Nook HD, Playaway Launchpad, and Samsung Galaxy Tab are on loan for kids and already come pre-loaded with content. All lending periods are for 2 weeks.

Bibliotech has plenty to offer even if you never step in to one of their locations. If you already have a device running Apple iOS or Android as well as a browser on your PC, you can check out ebooks, audiobooks and more from home without having to go to one of the Bibliotech locations. Let's quickly run through some of the apps Bibliotech supports. Cloud Library lets you download ebooks and audiobooks. Hoopla let you download ebooks, audiobooks, movies, and music. RBDigital lets you check out magazines, classic books, and even gets you access to Qello which is a service to let you watch concert recordings. BiblioBoard is an app where independent authors can submit books and graphic novels for the public to check out. One of the bigger services Bibliotech offers is free access to Lynda.com for online tutorials about a wide variety of subjects, but mainly computer science and software tutorials. Finally you can also learn languages with Mango Language.

Bibliotech is a great service and they are located in communities where they are needed most. It is also nice to have additional options. If San Antonio Public Library doesn't have an ebook available that you are looking for, you can try Bibliotech's various offerings. To find out more visit them at bexarbibliotech.org and drop by one of their locations sometime. The librarians are friendly and want to help.