Bibliographic Database of Interactive Books

The "Bibliographic Database of Interactive Books" consists of bibliographical information about books, manuscript and printed, ancient and modern, and prints containing interactive paper devices. The expression "movable or interactive books" in fact refers to books created for a wide range of different purposes (teaching, mnemonics, play, divining, etc.) including mechanical or paratextual devices demanding or soliciting the interaction of the reader. Volvelles and flaps were the two most common devices in scientific books between the 16th and 17th centuries: volvelles, or rotating discs, parchment or paper, shaped and superimposed, fixed to the underlying page with one or more pins, which allowed each disc to rotate freely and independently around its own axis; and flaps designed and used to cover and then reveal one or more images underneath, used especially in anatomy books. From the 18th century onwards, thanks to the ingenuity of brilliant paper engineers, interactive books found their most successful application in children's literature, inaugurating an extraordinary season of wonderful effects starting with pop-up books. The database, which is not prefigured as a catalog, will act as a collector between bibliographic information from various international, primary and secondary sources (library catalogs, private collections, sales, editorial, auction catalogs, etc.). Its structure is such as to allow in a simplified way the entry of data but also its retrieval, either through the usual access points (author, title, place, publisher, year, subject, etc.) or by navigating by types of interactivity and paper inventions. As a next step, the bibliographic data collected in the database is transformed into an entity-based structure and converted into the BIBFRAME format, using specific components of the LOD Platform developed by Casalini-Cult within the broader Share Family initiative. This transformation enables the semantic structuring of bibliographic records in accordance with linked data principles. Furthermore, the project enriches the BIBFRAME output by integrating the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), allowing users to access and explore high-resolution images of the interactive works. This combination enhances both the discoverability and the visual experience of the materials, supporting advanced research and specialized applications.