Digital Spaces
Scotland's most ambitious public library VR programme — conceived and delivered by Neon8 in partnership with The Space and the Digital Libraries Network.
Our Biggest VR Project to Date
Digital Spaces Phase 2 represents a landmark programme — bringing immersive VR technology into public libraries across Scotland, and placing Neon8 at the heart of every strand of its delivery.
Neon8's role was twofold: as the hands-on onboarder for the VR headset tour across every partner library, and as the creative and production lead for a funded strand of original filmmaking, masterclasses, and a custom-built app.
Our vision from the outset was that the Digital Spaces app would become the foundation of a future immersive archive — accessible through headsets within libraries, giving communities a new way to encounter and preserve their own stories.
What We Delivered
VR Headset Onboarding
Kelman personally visited each library on the tour — training staff on how to operate the VR headsets and guiding audiences through the licensed content. The aim was confident, consistent delivery at every venue, with no technical friction between the technology and the public it was serving.
VR180 Masterclasses
As part of a dedicated funded strand, Neon8 conceived and delivered VR180 filmmaking masterclasses for library staff and communities across the partner services. These weren't just skills sessions — they were an investment in long-term capacity for immersive storytelling within Scotland's library network.
11 Original VR180 Films
We produced 11 original VR180 films featuring stories and subjects from five partner library services. Each film was made specifically for the immersive format — not a conversion of conventional video, but work conceived and crafted for the 180° stereoscopic medium from the ground up.
The Digital Spaces App
We conceived and built the Digital Spaces app to house and distribute the films — and with a larger purpose in mind. Our vision was for the app to serve as the foundation of a future immersive archive, allowing library communities to access locally-rooted VR content through headsets within their own spaces.
The Vision: An Immersive Archive
From the start, Digital Spaces was designed with a longer horizon in mind. The 11 films and the custom app are not just deliverables for Phase 2 — they are the first chapters of what we hope will become a genuinely enduring immersive archive for Scottish libraries and their communities.
Our model sees headsets installed within library spaces, running the Digital Spaces app, giving visitors a new dimension of access to their community's stories — past and present — in the most visceral and immediate format available.
Phase 3 — currently in development, subject to funding — would extend the programme further, building on the foundations laid across Phases 1 and 2.
"Our vision was for Digital Spaces to form the basis of a future immersive archive that could be accessed via headsets within libraries."
— Kelman Greig-Kicks, Creative Director, Neon8
The Partnership
Digital Spaces Phase 2 was made possible through a collaboration with The Space and the Digital Libraries Network — bringing together digital arts expertise, public library infrastructure, and Neon8's immersive production capability.
Read more about the programme on The Space website: thespace.org
Interested in a Similar Project?
Whether you're a library service, cultural institution, or public body exploring immersive media, we'd love to talk about what's possible.