Tom Pert, Royal Commission on the
Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Wales
Dr Alan Chamberlain, University of
Nottingham

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An online, multimedia, multi-platform webservice providing bilingual content created by Welsh museums, archives and libraries and user-generated content on Welsh cultural heritage.

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Welsh Historic Environment supports
30,000 jobs contributes approx. £840m to
Welsh economy.
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Walking contributes around £548 million to the Welsh economy each year (Ramblers
Cymru).
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Why not combine the two?

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Trails are the item-type that most clearly illustrate the possibilities for linking online cultural-heritage resources with tourism and community engagement.

User-generated trail creation using online TrailBuilder tool

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Free “Trails Cymru” app for iPhone & Android

Visit Wales i-frame provides visitor information relevant to the spatial context of trail.

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Maps & media are not cached – app needs network to operate properly

Best
Worst

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Maps & media are not cached – app needs network to operate correctly
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Problems supporting updated software platforms
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Unable to offer level of flexibility requested by key user groups
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Moderation

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Use flexible 3 rd party tools that cache trail route, maps and media...
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Placebooks!

place.books
|pleys books| verb [trans.]
1. To create books; to narrate or describe a place you live in or wish to visit.
2. To make books using digital media.

WEB INTERFACE www.placebooks.org

OVERVIEW OF THE EDITOR
EACH ELEMENT CAN BE GEO-LOCATED ON THE MAP - BOOK HAS A LOCATION

VIDEO DEMO

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Share published material
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Share rights – group publishing
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Sharing encourages feedback!

SEARCHING FOR BOOKS

MOBILE APP
For Android and iPad

WHAT THE MOBILE APP DOES
A tool for accessing placebooks while ‘ on the go ’ and being able to use features ‘ in the wild ’ , in areas without any data connectivity.

FEATURES
Downloaded books
Access your online shelf
Search for nearby books

NAVIGATING THROUGH BOOKS
Scroll up and down
Swipe left and right between pages

INTERACTING WITH IMAGES

INTERACTING WITH VIDEO

INTERACTING WITH MAPS
- Cached OS Maps
- YAH marker (red pointer) tracks where you are on the map
- Geotagged media items can be opened by clicking on their icons (orange camera icons)

IPAD VIDEO DEMO

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Bilingual PCW hosted & branded version of
Placebooks available to service users
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PCW maps (including historic maps) incorporated into Placebooks system
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Internationalise - European languages
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Work with more partners
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Launch on 3 rd July – Royal Geographical Society

Abstract
Placebooks and the People’s Collection of Wales
Dr Alan Chamberlain, Mixed Reality Lab, University of Nottingham
New developments in mobile, location and sensor-based or ‘ ubiquitous ’ computing now make it possible for users to move beyond the urban fringes. They herald the expansion of computing from cities into rural locations that have long been marginalised due to the limitations of existing technology. Current digital mapping services largely focus on urban environments with many systems offering rich street views of urban settings, but such views of rural space are largely absent. Placebooks is a ‘ toolkit ’ that allows people to create and share community-based maps that reflect their interests and concerns. For example, users are able to sketch routes of their favourite pathways through the countryside. GPS data and community content, relevant to different points on their route, can then augment these routes.
Tags and content can also be added to other users ’ routes, adding to the overall body of knowledge.
We will be giving a brief introduction to the project followed by a demonstration of the system.
For more information email:
Alan.Chamberlain@Nottingham.ac.uk
This work was supported by the Research Councils UK (RCUK) [grant number – EP/I001816/1]

• tom.pert@rcahmw.gov.uk
(@trompet2)
• azc@cs.notts.ac.uk