What?! No Books?! {Electronic Library}

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Back in January, a colleague shared an article about the nation's first "bookless" library.  This e-library, named BiblioTech, is set to open in Texas.  I have spent a good deal of time thinking about this new library and reflecting on the move toward all things digital in the last month.

I am torn.

I love the thought and the convenience of having all my books at my fingertips on one device, and boy, the digital solutions are appealing when I remember the days of lugging giant textbooks around campus.  

But, there are some things about the eventual loss of books that make me sad.

I can't really see myself curling up with an e-reader, like I can a "regular" book.  And is it really safe to have an electronic device near the bathtub, pool, or ocean, where I love to read most often?  And, you can't smell the pages, or feel their texture from an electronic screen.  And, the bindings won't smile at you from the shelves with cracks and creases from repeated readings.

Sigh.

Times they are a changing.

I wonder if the old scribes were as sad when the printing press came along.

I heard a teacher laughing the other day as she said to another, "Well, they can never really get rid of all books!"

I thought to myself, never say never.

What about you?  Do you think books are on their way out?  What will you miss most?