Through an articulation between Councilor Diego Laserna, the District Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Sports, SCRD, through its BibloRed project and TRANSMILENIO S.A. users in the TransMilenio System, will have access tales, poems and short stories which they can read on their cell phones through QR codes. These stories are part of a selection of books and resources that are available, free of charge, at the Bogotá Digital Library.
The initiative aims to improve the travel experience, broaden the offer of services within the System and promote the encounter of users with different literary titles. Every week, people who travel through the city will have the opportunity to meet and enjoy a new story, a new character and a new adventure.
There will be 120 electric TransMilenio buses which, through technological services such as Wi-Fi, USB ports and labels with QR codes on each seat, will allow citizens to access more than two million contents of the Digital Library of Bogota
Taking into consideration the time users spend on bus route within the System; poetry, short stories, letters, among other readings, have been selected to accompany the readers' journey. In addition, using the QR code, users will find the option to know, explore and enjoy other content found in the Bogotá Digital Library.
“This strategy to promote reading within the System, broadens the range of benefits for passengers. In TransMilenio we work every day to improve the travel experience of our users, we advance in infrastructure issues, new buses, better technologies and of course in equipment inside the buses. An example of this are the 120 new area electric buses that start operating today and that bring security cameras, USB ports and free WiFi, technological accessories that allow alternatives such as an on-board library with short texts, selected so that they can be read during their journey and where interest in this initiative is also awakened”, expressed Felipe Ramírez, general manager of TRANSMILENIO SA
For his part, Nicolás Montero Domínguez, Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Sports, specified that “reading is a joy. Reading is the greatest pleasure of encountering stories and visions different from ours, from those of our culture. We must continue to promote the value of each citizen being a reading mediator, allowing others to get closer to the reality that surrounds them in broader ways. We insist that reading is not simply acquiring knowledge, but and mainly it is Reading for life, which is within everyone's reach, challenges us and transforms us. And with this initiative we realize this”.
He added: “We invite Bogota citizens to use the contents of the Bogota Digital Library. In these rides, let us allow reading to expand the windows of understanding, imagination, and creation. Let's strengthen the bond with books, stories, letters, let's enter this fascinating world of reading”.
What will you find in the System?
• We will install labels on the seats of the 120 new electric buses, all of which have a USB port and free WiFi to guarantee access to the Bogotá Digital Library.
• We will place racks at stations and portals, as well as posters with QR codes in Library stations so that users can enjoy reading recommendations.
What is the Bogotá Digital Library?
• The Bogotá Digital Library, BDB [www.bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co] is an open, remote and public access channel to various types of content, selected and organized in different areas of knowledge by librarians, cultural mediators and inhabitants of the city.
• It is a meeting space around learning, knowledge exchange, research and citizen participation.
• It is a platform for the dissemination of literature, history, memory and culture for Bogotá and its inhabitants.
What you can find in the Bogotá Digital Library
• You will find content on the history of the city, preserved by public institutions and collaborative collections, created by the communities and groups of mediators that inhabit the libraries on a daily basis.
• You will be able to access multiple ways of telling our experience about living and living in a city like Bogotá.
• You can consult directly, and freely, digital collections of different public institutions in the city, including BibloRed, the Banco de la República Virtual Library, the National Library of Colombia, as well as content subscribed with databases that allow the direct access to collections of books and games for children, entertainment, health and culture magazines, specialized books for university students, resources of interest to mediators and teachers, among other types of content.
What can you do at the Bogotá Digital Library?
• Create your reader profile and connect with other users
• Access more than 2 million digital contents, at any time and from anywhere around the world.
• Create collections of your interests and share it with others.
• Participate by adding content to existing collections.
How to access the Digital Library of Bogotá?
• Enter www.bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co
• Click on the "Login / Register" link.
• Read the terms and conditions and click the "Register" button
• Fill out the BibloRed registration form and determine what your password will be. Your user number is your own I.D. number.
• Create your profile as a user, with a photo and a short paragraph telling us what your interests are and enjoy all the content.
To read this note in spanish, click here.
