Since the advent of digital communication, the book has been adapted to a variety of forms, most of which remove the physical form factor and rely on computer interfaces. Waldek Wegrzyn, a design student at Poland’s Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, has done the opposite, building an electronic book that controls text and graphics on the web. Elektrobiblioteka can be viewed online, though you’ll need to translate the text if you don’t speak Polish. But as seen in the video below, it’s designed to be connected to its companion volume. Turning a page in the book switches web pages, and tapping graphics brings up animations on the screen.
Elektrobiblioteka merges print and screen, controlling a computer with a book
Elektrobiblioteka is a physical book that also controls a web page, blurring the distinction between physical text and computers.
Elektrobiblioteka is a physical book that also controls a web page, blurring the distinction between physical text and computers.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Wegrzyn says the book was inspired partly by designer El Lissitzky, whose 1923 manifesto called for writers to recognize the book as a technology that could “transcend time and space,” creating an “electro-library.” For his part, Wegrzyn wants to merge books with computers, removing the “strict division of print and screen” we see now.
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