
08.08.2011 / Arts & Culture
Technology for bookworms
More than 40,000 digitised classic books available for the iPad, with original page markings and drawings. Treasures is a brand new app from the British Library – one of the world’s largest libraries – marking a very important moment in the history of e-books.
Unlike other types of e-books, Treasures avoids the plain formatting of the manuscripts and ancient books, thus preserving the paper version’s original charm.
On the other hand, the app also manages to subtract the idea of searching through the archives from the old “bookworm” cliché.
Through high-resolution images allowing the viewer to zoom in and explore in detail, audio and video extracts, and highlights, the exploration becomes a dynamic and multimedia experience.
What’s inside it, by the way? Over 100 unique or rare items that won’t fail to seduce even the most skeptical book-lover, including the original version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, sketches by Leonardo, and poems written in William Blake’s hand.




