ANZAC Stories was developed as an online response to commemorate ANZAC Day and to promote content available at State Library of Queensland when ANZAC Day events were cancelled due to COVID-19.
The Library commissioned Alkira Software to develop a voice-activated application to allow Queenslanders to request a poppy be left on their behalf at ANZAC Square Memorial Galleries via their smartphone or device. The service also offered the opportunity to listen to The Last Post, stories of past and present serving members of the armed forces, from State Library’s collections, and observe a minute silence.
Developed in four weeks, ANZAC Stories responded to the inability for thousands of Queenslanders to commemorate those who served, and an opportunity to explore the potential for voice activation to be more than a simple transaction. People from all over Australia, as well as the USA, NZ and the UK requested poppies. The option to request an email with a photograph of ‘your poppy’ in the Memorial Galleries allowed the Library to connect with new users and engagement has continued post-ANZAC Day, reinvigorated as part of 75th Anniversary of Victory in the Pacific and Remembrance Day.
Join Anna Raunik, Executive Director, Content and Client Services SLQLD and Linda Barron, Director, Visitor and Information Services SLQLD as they discuss the successful application and their learnings of this new technology.
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