British Library introduces first app for iOS, Android
updated 11:05 am EST, Mon January 10, 2011
Provides access to rare books
The British Library has launched its first-ever mobile app, Treasures. The title is available in three separate editions, for iPad, iPhone/iPod and Android. It so far provides access to a little over 100 items from the Library's collection, such as a 1215 copy of the Magna Carta, music manuscripts belonging to Handel, Purcell and Mozart, and Buddhist, Christian and Zoroastrian religious documents.
Some other categories covered include fiction, maps and science. While the emphasis of the app is on still images, it also provides a variety of sound recordings, and just under 50 videos with people like curators or TV presenter Ben Fogle. Regular information updates are promised for exhibitions running at the Library.
The iPad app, Treasures HD, is priced at £2.39, and benefits from a higher-resolution native interface. The iPhone/iPod title is £1.19. While the former requires only iOS 3.2, the latter demands at least iOS 4; both are restricted to the UK App Store.
