Asia-Pacific Library and Information Conference 2018, 30 July - 2 August 2018 Gold Coast: Roar Leap Dare
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) supports the paper which discusses the opportunities for libraries to create new user experiences through augumented reality (AR) technology.
AR technology embeds virtual information into the real world environment. A collaboration between Kāpiti Coast District Libraries, Wellington City Libraries, and a local tech start-up ScimitAR, led to the development of an AR “ScavengAR Hunt”, launched in both libraries during the October school holidays. Our aims were to:
- provide existing customers with new ways of discovering and interacting with library spaces and collections
- attract new customers to visit our libraries
Thanks to dynamic leaps through the development and test phases, the app went live at the end of week one of the holidays. We directed customers to use Android devices (BYOD or library-provided) to complete five AR challenges located throughout any of our branch 15 libraries. We wanted to deliver a “whole of community” experience, so ensured the challenges were self-correcting (users could identify the correct answer through a process of elimination) and visual (users did not need to read text to solve each challenge). Once all five challenges were successfully completed, the app directed customers to collect an AR-enabled bookmark that brought a “Mahi the Moa” character to life.
