British Library launches Treasures smartphone app
12th January 2011
The British Library has launched its first smartphone app to allow readers to view some of the rare and unique artefacts in its collection.
Through the Treasures app, smartphone and media tablet users will be able to access more than 100 of the library's historic texts, 250 high-definition images and over 40 videos offering expert commentary and textual interpretation.
Among the documents that can be viewed are Jane Austen's teenage writings, the first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and the handwritten draft of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby.
Other notable texts include the Lindisfarne Gospels, the battle plan that Horatio Nelson wrote before facing the French at Trafalgar and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci.
Frances Brindle, director of strategic marketing and communications at the British Library, commented: 'Access to our collections through mobile technologies is an exciting initiative for the library.
'We are delighted to be able to make our unique collection items available to a wider audience via this interactive app in such a dynamic format.'
Last year, the British Library announced that it had successfully digitised more than one-quarter of its collection of Greek manuscripts and made them available online.