Step Into the Babel Nexus Public Domain Library — 814 Unique Works, 53 Galleries, Free
A visual library where you explore classic books and ideas by clicking through connected rooms.
Babel Nexus is a visual library and experimental book platform. Its core Public Domain Library organizes classic primary works into connected hexagonal galleries. Additional collections explore modern editions and the changing technology of books, including book-discovery applications, digital-library software, experimental readers, open publishing tools, spatial books and immersive AR/VR/XR reading experiences.
Beyond the public-domain library, Babel Nexus explores the future of the book through a curated bookstore and a growing Book Applications collection covering discovery, digital libraries, experimental reading, open publishing technology, spatial books and AR/VR/XR reading.
Book Applications extends the Babel Nexus mission beyond preserving and organizing books of the past. It documents emerging ways of discovering, creating, reading and experiencing books. The collection is curated rather than automatically aggregated, with particular attention to unusual, experimental, open and spatial approaches to the book.
The collection includes free book apps and open technologies, alongside freemium tools, experimental projects, waitlists and unavailable or historical projects. Access, compatible hardware and availability are recorded per entry; inclusion does not mean every project is free or currently usable. This is a discovery directory, not a marketplace.
36 applications and projects across 6 application galleries (39 category placements), separate from Public Domain Library and bookstore totals.
Book Applications collection · Open the existing visual collection
Explore applications that extend what libraries can do with books, collections, primary sources, discovery, reading, navigation, and digital space. The collection includes library reading applications, primary-source tools, experimental interfaces, and virtual or three-dimensional libraries.
Explore Library Applications visually
SimplyE was an open-source library ebook application developed under the New York Public Library's Library Simplified initiative. It was designed to combine ebook discovery, borrowing, downloading, and reading from multiple library sources within a unified interface. NYPL discontinued the SimplyE application in August 2025, but the Library Simplified source code and project repositories remain an important example of open-source library reading technology.
Creator: The New York Public Library · Organization: New York Public Library
Access: unknown · Platform: iOS (historical), Android (historical) · Status: HISTORICAL / DISCONTINUED
Catalog tags: LIBRARY APP, EBOOK READING, BOOK DISCOVERY, DIGITAL LENDING, OPEN SOURCE, HISTORICAL
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. SimplyE was discontinued by NYPL in August 2025. The primary link points to the Library Simplified GitHub organization and its repositories, not a live downloadable app.
Official project: SimplyE / Library SimplifiedA library-focused application providing discovery, borrowing, and reading access to ebooks and audiobooks from multiple providers and collections through a unified interface.
Creator: The Palace Project · Organization: LYRASIS (with DPLA)
Access: free · Platform: iOS, Android · Status: current
Catalog tags: LIBRARY APP, EBOOK READING, DIGITAL LENDING, BOOK DISCOVERY
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. The official patron page describes iOS and Android apps and library-card sign-in; the official digital-content page describes the free open-access bookshelf. Library loans depend on participating libraries and eligibility.
Official project: PalaceAn augmented-reality application for exploring digitized cultural materials. Booksnake uses IIIF resources to allow digitized collection items to be experienced as virtual objects within physical space.
Creator: Sean Fraga and collaborators · Organization: USC–Mellon Humanities in a Digital World and Ahmanson Lab in USC Libraries
Access: free · Platform: iOS, iPadOS · Status: current
Catalog tags: LIBRARY APP, PRIMARY SOURCES, AR, IIIF, SPATIAL
Hardware: AR-capable iPhone or iPad · Software: iOS / iPadOS 17 or higher
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Official site says the app is free for iPhone and iPad (iOS 17+), uses IIIF, and is led by Sean Fraga with collaborators; collection items include books, manuscripts, newspapers and maps.
Official project: BooksnakeAn open-source application for viewing, comparing, and annotating digitized manuscripts, rare books, maps, artworks, and other image-based cultural resources using IIIF.
Creator: Mirador / IIIF community · Organization: Mirador / IIIF community
Access: free · Platform: web · Status: current
Catalog tags: PRIMARY SOURCES, IIIF, ANNOTATION, COMPARATIVE VIEWING, OPEN SOURCE
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Official project site describes an open-source, web-based multi-window image viewer with comparison and annotation; the repository documents IIIF support. Availability of particular collections depends on their providers.
Official project: MiradorAn open-source application for presenting books, manuscripts, images, audio, video, and other digital cultural-heritage resources delivered through IIIF.
Creator: Universal Viewer community · Organization: Universal Viewer community
Access: free · Platform: web · Status: current
Catalog tags: LIBRARY APP, PRIMARY SOURCES, IIIF, DIGITAL BOOKS, OPEN SOURCE
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Official project site describes IIIF manifest viewing and audio/video support; official repository identifies it as a community-developed open-source viewer. Individual collections are hosted by their own institutions.
Official project: Universal ViewerA collaborative application for transcribing, indexing, annotating, and working with digitized manuscripts and historical documents, allowing readers and researchers to participate directly in interpreting primary sources.
Creator: FromThePage · Organization: FromThePage
Access: freemium · Platform: web · Status: current
Catalog tags: PRIMARY SOURCES, TRANSCRIPTION, ANNOTATION, DIGITAL HUMANITIES, COLLABORATIVE READING
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Official about page describes collaborative transcription of archival material and identifies Ben and Sara Brumfield as creators. Official pricing says transcription is free for volunteers while institutions pay to host projects.
Official project: FromThePageAn experimental browser-based 3D interpretation of Jorge Luis Borges's *The Library of Babel*. The application presents an explorable library of interconnected hexagonal galleries with books that visitors can approach and interact with, turning the idea of a library into a navigable three-dimensional environment.
Creator: Ethan Mollick · Organization: unknown
Access: free · Platform: web · Status: experimental
Catalog tags: 3D Library, Experimental Library, Three.js, Spatial Interface, Interactive Books, Open Source
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Ethan Mollick’s public repository identifies the Three.js, open-source deterministic 3D recreation and links a live demo. This is not the separate libraryofbabel.info project.
Official project: The Library of BabelAn experimental three-dimensional reconstruction of Umberto Eco's personal library. The project uses available photographs, videos, catalog information, and other records to recreate and explore the organization of Eco's extensive book collection as a navigable digital environment.
Creator: Ethan Mollick · Organization: unknown
Access: free · Platform: web · Status: experimental
Catalog tags: 3D Library, Digital Reconstruction, Personal Library, Three.js, Spatial Interface, Experimental Library
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. Ethan Mollick’s project repository describes a walk-through Three.js model built from public catalogues, film and photographs, with uncertain placements identified. Its README links a live site. This is an experimental reconstruction by Ethan Mollick and should not be confused with the separate official Umberto Eco library projects operated by the Fondazione Umberto Eco and University of Bologna.
Official project: Umberto Eco's LibraryMyShelves is a browser-based first-person 3D library that users build book by book. Books can be added using real bibliographic metadata and covers, carried through the virtual environment, read, placed on shelves, and rearranged. Users can also customize the library environment and share their room with others.
Creator: David Zadzora · Organization: unknown
Access: unknown · Platform: web · Status: current
Catalog tags: 3D LIBRARY, PERSONAL LIBRARY, INTERACTIVE BOOKS, VIRTUAL BOOKSHELF, SPATIAL INTERFACE, THREE.JS, REACT THREE FIBER
Hardware: unknown · Software: unknown
Last verified: 2026-09-25. The official site presents “a library you can walk around in,” adding your own books, and entry to the library. Creator attribution, detailed functionality, and technology tags follow the supplied project information; these were not independently tested. Pricing and organization remain unverified.
Official project: MyShelvesBabel Nexus is an independent curated resource. Projects listed here are included for discovery and research; inclusion does not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.