You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
A new, free app which links books and authors to dates, themes and distinct locations around Scotland is being launched tomorrow (18th March).
Bookspotting, its name a play on the popular Scottish novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (Vintage), is a tool for discovering Scottish-interest books using functions built in to smartphones.
A collaboration between Publishing Scotland in Edinburgh and Saraband Books and Spot Specific in Glasgow, Bookspotting was funded by NESTA’s Research and Development Fund in conjunction with Creative Scotland. Drawing on book data supplied by Bibliographical Data Services in Dumfries, it features over 3500 books of Scottish interest and links them to character, place, setting, author, date and theme. Titles with a strong connection to a place or landscape in Scotland can be geo-located using GPS technology even when the user’s phone or tablet isn’t online.
Marion Sinclair, Publishing Scotland’s chief executive, said: “Publishers are increasingly coming up with new ideas to promote their titles digitally as the reading habit shifts more and more online and onto portable devices. This new app offers a guide to some of the more iconic places in Scotland and their literary connections. This is the place to discover the connection between Jules Verne and Oban, or between Mary Shelley and Dundee, and a guide to the independent bookshop that’s nearest to you.”
Jenny Niven, portfolio manager of Literature, Publishing and Languages at Creative Scotland, commented: “It’s a little treasure trove – a miniature storehouse of literally thousands of Scottish books, their authors and how to find them compressed into one tidy little app. It’s brilliant to see Scottish work presented digitally in such an accessible and comprehensive way, and the simplicity and cleanliness of the design make it really a pleasure to use.” She added: “The collaboration of Publishing Scotland, Saraband and Spot Specific is also a brilliant example of organisations bringing their different areas of focus and expertise together to create something unique and innovative.”
The principal aim of the app is to get people discovering and reading great Scottish books. The developers also hope to promote wider access to literature, find new audiences for Scottish writers, celebrate Scotland’s unique literary heritage, update the image of Scotland’s vibrant publishing industry and support cultural tourism around all regions.
The app is free to download from the App Store and in the Android version from Google Play.