It’s been interesting seeing museums and galleries get into apps in recent months. Just last week, London’s National Gallery and Paris’ Pompidou Centre launched their own apps, while last year The Louvre got an app to co-incide with an Apple Store opening nearby.
Now another London institution is getting appy. The British Library is launching Treasures HD for iPad, working with developer Toura.
The app spotlights 100 exhibits from the museum’s collection, including books and documents, musical scores and maps. iPad users will be able to dig into Jane Austen’s teenage writings; an original Magna Carta from 1215; scores from Handel, Mozart and Schubert; and documents covering Fleming’s discovery of penicillin.
Every exhibit gets high-resolution images for you to pore over, while some have sound recordings and short video clips. According to the App Store blurb, the app will be regularly updated with new information on exhibitions at the British Library too.
The app popped up on the US App Store last night, although puzzlingly it doesn’t appear to be live yet on the UK store – even though British Library: Treasures HD appears as an autocomplete if you start typing the app name into iTunes. Anyway, when it does go live, it will be well worth a look.
Leave a Reply