
Challenge
The Library wanted to develop a smartphone application to increase its public reach and visitor engagement. Art Processors was brought on as a digital strategist to create and implement this project. Our task was to develop a mobile application for iOS and Android devices that provided rich content to visitors that focused on the 106-year-old Mitchell Library building.





Approach
We led a research consortium that involved of representatives from the Library, Samsung Electronics, and HP. The latter two collaborators were responsible for providing hardware and offering specialist technical assistance for the project. We conducted a study with Library staff and visitors to look at ways visitors could connect further with the Library's collection and history via a mobile app. The research informed the development of Curio and its interactive content.

The innovative mobile interface knows where you are inside the State Library and intuitively delivers interesting facts, surprising stories and multimedia about the objects and architectural features around you.
– Chris Griffith,
Journalist, The Australian
Solution
Drawing on the location-based technologies we had developed for the Museum of Old and New Art, our technological solution delivered rich interpretive materials about the building and collection, all without the use of traditional printed signage or permanent structural changes to the heritage-listed building. Curio was location-aware, ensuring facts, stories and multimedia content about nearby objects and features of the building were instantly made available to visitors. The app pushed the visitor experience to new heights, allowing visitors to rate objects on site, play back their visit at home at home, and share their favourite objects on social media.