By Andrea Swalec
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The 1939 New York World's Fair brought futuristic-sounding firsts like Smell-O-Vision, nylon and florescent lighting, and now records of it are heading to the world's latest high-tech gadget: the iPad.
A portion of the New York Public Library's collection on the 1939 World's Fair — one of its most popular collections among researchers — is now available via Apple's iPad, the library announced Tuesday.
The "Biblion: The Boundless Library" app — developed by the NYPL and design firm Potion — gives readers access to the library's 2,500-box collection of photographs, correspondence and press releases from the legendary fair.
"Much like the 1939 Fair itself, Biblion represents a chance to see the World of Tomorrow today," Henry Jenkins, a media scholar and contributor to the project, said in a press release Tuesday.
The app was released as the library celebrates its 100th anniversary, and promises to win over printed-word devotees by providing a better-than-paper experience. Readers can turn and zoom in on pages, and flip entire documents.Da
"Biblion transfers the physical library experience, where you see the shape of books and understand what's inside them, into a multi-dimension digital application," Potion principal Phillip Tiongson said in the press release.
NYPL president Paul LeClerc said the app is representative of the 87-branch library itself.
"Through this app, and the countless serendipitous moments of discovery it offers, we open up the world of possibility the Library represents," LeClerc said.
The app is available for free on the App Store.
The NYPL's centennial celebration includes events May 20-22 at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 5th Avenue at 42nd Street.
The festivities include "bedtime stories for grown-ups" with David Hyde Pierce, five-foot-tall LEGO replicas of the library's signature lions and a panel hosted by "The Believer" magazine. The full schedule of the Centennial Weekend Festival is available here.
