16 November 2017
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LitLong free Edinburgh app
A new walkabout app which allows users to take a tour of Edinburgh's literary history has been launched by the University of Edinburgh and Napier University.
Launch of Litlong - free interactive Edinburgh app Images
A new walkabout app which allows users to take a tour of Edinburgh's literary history has been launched by the University of Edinburgh and Napier University.
LitLong is a free app which contains around 50,000 excerpts from classic and contemporary – and even forgotten – texts so users can experience the UNESCO City of Literature’s attractions.
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It includes extracts from celebrated authors such as Walter Scott, and Muriel Spark as well as present-day fiction writers such as James Robertson and Alexander McCall Smith.
Literary experts and computer scientists at the University of Edinburgh and Napier University used text mining technology to source references to the city and pin them to an interactive map.
How was LitLong created?
Literary experts worked with software developers, designers and publishers who accessed digital collections around the world – including works held by the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and Project Gutenberg – an archive of digital and cultural works.
Professor Loxley, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages, and Cultures, said: “Edinburgh has a unique literary heritage. Its streets echo with the voices of countless authors and their characters. This exploration of the possibilities offered by Big Data for digital literary research means writers’ references to locations throughout the city can be found at the tap of a screen, or the click of a mouse.”
The app ‘LitLong’ is available soon on Google Play or in the App Store.
The online resource can be accessed here.
The project has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of its investment in Big Data – the collecting, organising and interpreting of large sets of digital information.
It is supported by The Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Logo copyright LitLong, image copyright Tony Hisgett
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