A NY Times article detailing current uses for “virtual books” in art museums in the UK and US.
The granddaddy and gold standard for this sort of device — often referred to as a “virtual book” — is probably Turning the Pages, developed by the British Library as a temporary display for their new building, which opened in April 1998. Initially, six interactive kiosks offered digitized versions of four of the library’s treasures, including the Lindisfarne Gospels, an eighth-century illuminated manuscript, and the Diamond Sutra, the world’s oldest dated printed book. The kiosks proved so popular that they’re now a permanent fixture. Six more manuscripts and books have been digitized; two larger kiosks have been added; and this year, the library began to market its technology, now in its third iteration, called Turning the Pages 3D.
Turning the Pages also incorporates explanatory text and music, and its animation is reported to be so uncannily detailed that it even simulates the glint of gold leaf as the pages flip. But the virtual books being used in the United States are somewhat less elaborate and, therefore, less expensive to produce. Most use off-the-shelf software, like Macromedia Director or Flash, and many use the same readily available components: a Macintosh platform; high-resolution digital scans; an interactive element, much like an A.T.M. touch-sensor screen or buttons; and even, in some cases, animation to simulate the pages turning.
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