BiblioTech – prima „biblioteca fara carti” din lume

Numarul 207 pe iunie 2016 al revistei iesene de cultura Timpul a publicat o versiune scurta in limba romana a articolului meu in limba engleza despre BiblioTech, publicat recent pe blogul Persona. Articolul poate fi citit si online, AICI. Il redau mai jos in intregime.

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Recent, am avut șansa de a vizita biblioteca digitală din comitatul Bexar din San Antonio, prima de acest fel din lume. Pe când căutam adresa, prietenul care mă ducea acolo devenea tot mai sceptic. Era imposibil ca o asemenea bibliotecă unicat să funcționeze în zona cea mai săracă a orașului. Totuși, tocmai aceasta fusese ideea. Nelson Wolff, magistratul suprem al comitatului, este cel care a imaginat această instituție, devenită acum un model pentru întreaga lume. Planul său a fost acela de a-i oferi populației sărace din Bexar șansa de a ieși din sărăcie prin educație. În sudul comitatului, cu 80% hispanici, 70% dintre locuințe neavând acces la internet și totalitatea populației școlare primind zilnic prânz gratuit, din pricina sărăciei părinților.

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BiblioTech – The First ‘Bookless’ Public Library in the World

During my visit in San Antonio, Tx., in May 2016, I had the privilege of visiting the first completely digital library that was ever open anywhere in the world. I had heard about it before, and I made concrete plans to visit it while in Texas. So, on May 25^th, with the gracious help of my friend Rev. Silviu Neagu, we set on the way to look for it, after a visit at the Central Library in San Antonio, where we got the address we needed – 3505 Pleasanton Road, in Bexar [pronounced ‘bear’] County, a 1.7 million members, and rapidly growing.

Selfie with Rev. Silviu Neagu in front of BiblioTech

As we were driving deeper into the South, the poorest area of San Antonio, my friend was becoming more and more skeptical. It seemed almost impossible to find a library in such a place. Did we have the wrong address? Yet, there it was: Bexar BiblioTech, hosted in a not very large former warehouse space. My heart started pounding. I had found it.

Rev. Silviu Neagu & Mr. JoseAngel Siller, head of BiblioTech in Pleasanton

As we entered the building, we were greeted by the guard, and the head of this institution, Mr. JoseAngel Siller, who became our guide during this visit. He had, among other things, a master’s degree in philosophy of religion, and seemed to be a religious man, even if he did not make too much out of it.

One of the first things one sees on the wall after entering the building is the ‘tecolote’ [owl, in Spanish], the mascot and at the very same time the digital app of the library. As you scan it with your phone or table camera, you enter the virtual world of this technological miracle.