Placebooks: participation, community, design, and ubiquitous data aggregation ‘in the wild'

This paper outlines and describes the development of a multi-media data aggregation system called Placebooks. Placebooks was developed as a ubiquitous toolkit aimed at allowing people in rural areas to create and share digital books that contained a variety of media, such as: maps; text; videos; audio and images. Placebooks consists of two parts: 1) a web-based editor and viewer, and 2) an Android app that allows the user to download and view books. In particular, the app allows the user to cache content, thereby negating the need for 3G networks in rural areas where there is little-to-no 3G coverage. Both the web-based tools and the app were produced in the English and Welsh languages. The system was developed through working with local communities using participatory approaches: working 'in the wild'. Placebooks is currently being used by a Welsh Assembly Government project called the People's Collection of Wales/ Casgliad y Werin.