Gdansk installs thief-proof e-books on trams
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
25.04.2013 09:00
The Baltic city of Gdansk has made a series of e-books available on municipal trams after thousands of traditional tomes were stolen earlier this year.
Image: WiMBP Gdansk
The city's 'Mobile Reading' campaign was initially set in motion in January with the aim of promoting literacy, and 5000 books were placed in nets on the backs of tram seats.
But the books proved too tempting for travellers, and every last volume disappeared.
Under the new system, books can still be read free of charge - provided you are carrying a valid tram ticket - but customers will have to have a smartphone or a tablet to make use of the facility.
“This time, there will be enough for all readers, regardless of how many people want to carry on reading at home having fallen under the spell of a book,” said Michal Piotrowski from Gdansk town hall, as cited by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
Virtual shelves have been installed in the trams, and travellers can scan codes on book-spines.
The first wave takes in a hundred titles, and regular updates are promised. Among the e-books currently available are Nobel Prize-winning author Henryk Sienkiewicz's In Desert and Wilderness, as well as a Polish translation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. (nh)
Source: Radio Gdansk, Gazeta Wyborcza