Libraries invite hackers to exploit data 

The winners of Libraryhack – a mashup and apps competition using data, photos and digital media from Australian and New Zealand libraries – were announced at the State Library of Queensland in late June. An intiative of NSLA’s Community-created Content project, the competition encouraged hackers and digital creatives to re-mix and re-purpose digital data from state and national libraries across Australia and New Zealand.

The prizewinning entries included:

• Talking Maps by Michael Henderson – a mashup of various datasets, photos and online materials, including videos and Tweets, woven into stories and superimposed onto maps from eras past to create a number of digital stories, bringing history to life. 
• Reflection of Time by Andrew Young – a photo mashup combining contemporary and historic photographs.
• Glorious Image Viewer by Mark Balandzic and John Howland – a digital media mashup in the form of a 3D projection viewer that polls pictures from a library database and projects them onto cylinders, controlled by the user’s mobile phone. 
• Discovery by Diana Iles – an idea for an app to bring to life the discovery and exploration of the Australian continent using the collections of Australian libraries. 

There were more than 11,000 downloads of the datasets made available by participating libraries, resulting in over 150 entries to the competition. Details of all the winners, and all entries, are on the Libraryhack site. 

It is anticipated that many of the entries will be added to library collections in Australia and New Zealand, as part of the drive towards community-created content in contemporary libraries. The National Library of New Zealand is also involved in Mix and Mash, a competition to reuse and remix existing New Zealand digital content and data, now in its second year.

Image: Reflection of Time by Andrew Young