Literary Stockholm

Many authors have set their stories in Stockholm. Around the city there are literary signs with quotes from books or poems set at that very spot. In the Det litterära Stockholm (Literary Stockholm) app, you can read more about each sign and listen to it being read aloud. You'll also find literary walks all over the city for adults and children – and you can answer quiz questions and share your results with the world.

Challenge

Since 1992, the City of Stockholm's cultural administration has put up signs with quotes from books in which authors describe Stockholm. Today there are more than 80 signs, with new ones added every year. There is a printed book about the signs, and some are described online, but the City of Stockholm and Stockholm Public Library wanted a digital solution that made it easy for everyone to see where the signs are.

They wanted an app with a map showing all the signs, with the option of adding content such as themed guided walks and quizzes to create more engagement around literary Stockholm.

It was important that the service was flexible and that several users could manage the content. Besides images and texts about the signs and authors, Stockholm Public Library also wanted to publish recordings of each sign being read aloud – and, for copyright reasons, these recordings had to be locked to the location of each sign.

Beyond the technical requirements, it was also important that the app would have a long life, with room for development and good support.

Solution

We built a native app for Literary Stockholm. All the literary signs were placed on the map, and to meet the requirement for GPS-locked audio, we developed a feature that means users have to be at the location to play the recording, while text and images are always available wherever they are.

To save time and get the app ready as quickly as possible, we took on the work of adding all the signs with their images and audio. Meanwhile, the team at Stockholm Public Library was trained in the CMS and created a couple of themed walks that were ready for the launch in spring 2022.

As the signs don't need to be visited in any particular order, we developed the map so that users can more easily see their own position and which signs are nearby.

If the app is running in the background, users get a notification when they are close to a sign.

In summer 2022, Literary Stockholm added more themed walks based on the work of Astrid Lindgren, Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf and the poet Kristina Lugn.