Last updated 2 months ago
Communities need book-sharing systems to supplement libraries and connect readers, reducing duplicate purchases and expanding access where library services are limited.
BookHub uses blockchain to connect neighbors for book sharing, creating trusted local library hubs that supplement traditional libraries and build stronger reading communities (initially).
This is the total amount allocated to BookHub - Cardano Powered Book Sharing.
Please provide your proposal title
BookHub - Cardano Powered Book Sharing
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
48000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
9
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
Communities need book-sharing systems to supplement libraries and connect readers, reducing duplicate purchases and expanding access where library services are limited.
Supporting links
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No dependencies
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
Yes
License and Additional Information
Apache 2.0 https://opensource.org/api/license/apache-2-0
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal.
RWA
Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously funded (whether by you or others).
BookHub addresses local book sharing - a problem unaddressed by existing solutions. Current options are centralized libraries with limited access or informal lending without accountability. BookHub creates hyperlocal networks where neighbors share books within walking distance, using blockchain for transparent lending histories and trust without institutional oversight. This applies blockchain to cooperative principles from Edward Abramowski, Mondragon, and Społem movements, bridging historical cooperative wisdom with decentralized technology for scalable hyperlocal resource sharing.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
BookHub is a dApp enabling neighbors to create local book-sharing communities. Users catalog their available books, form location-based library hub, and invite others via shareable links. The platform facilitates book discovery, borrowing requests, and community building . Blockchain technology stores hashes of user and hub profiles, ensuring authenticity and creating decentralized trust without central oversight. This digital cooperative transforms personal book collections into neighborhood resources, reducing costs while strengthening local connections. Will be available through web.
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
Technical Adoption
Platform Engagement
Community Growth
Blockchain Impact
Social Impact
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
BookHub Solution Architecture
Core Platform
BookHub is a responsive web application that enables neighbors to create hyperlocal book-sharing communities. The platform combines traditional web technologies with Cardano blockchain infrastructure to create trusted, decentralized community libraries.
User Onboarding & Experience
New users begin with a streamlined onboarding process requiring minimal blockchain knowledge. Users create profiles, verify their location (postcode-based), and catalog their available books through an intuitive interface. The system generates a unique user identity that gets hashed and stored on-chain for verification while keeping personal data off-chain for privacy.
Hub Creation & Management
Users can create or join local library hubs based on geographic proximity. Hub creators define coverage areas (typically neighborhoods or postcode zones) and generate shareable invitation links. Each hub receives a unique NFT that serves as its authenticated identity and governance token. Hub members can discover available books, make borrowing requests, and track lending activities through the web interface.
NFT Minting & Smart Contracts
The platform utilizes two types of NFTs on Cardano:
Smart contracts handle NFT minting, reputation tracking, and basic governance functions. These contracts ensure transparent lending records while maintaining user privacy through hash-based verification rather than storing personal data on-chain.
Layer 2 Scaling with Cardano Hydra
To address cost and scalability concerns, BookHub will implement Cardano's Hydra Layer 2 solution for high-frequency transactions. This architecture enables:
Technical Implementation
Trust & Verification System
Profile and hub NFTs create a web of trust where reputation travels with users across different communities. The blockchain stores only cryptographic proofs of identity and reputation scores, while personal information remains in users' control. This approach balances transparency needed for community trust with privacy requirements for personal data protection.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
Despite the digital revolution, physical books remain irreplaceable for many readers. The tactile experience, reduced eye strain, and deeper engagement that physical books provide ensure continued demand, particularly for literature, children's books, and leisure reading.
BookHub's impact extends beyond individual convenience to create measurable community transformation:
Economic Impact
Reduced household spending on books through shared access
Increased utilization of existing book collections
Cost savings particularly benefiting families and students
Reduced waste from books read once and stored indefinitely
Social Impact
Strengthened neighborhood connections through shared interests
Enhanced access to reading materials in underserved areas
Support for local communities where library services are limited
Fostering of cooperative culture and mutual aid networks
Environmental Impact
Decreased demand for new book production
Extended lifecycle of existing books through community circulation
Reduced shipping and packaging waste from online book purchases
Blockchain & Cardano Ecosystem Impact
Mass Adoption Gateway: BookHub introduces non-crypto users to Cardano through practical, everyday utility, demonstrating blockchain's value beyond speculation
Real-World Use Case: Showcases how decentralized technology solves tangible community problems, advancing blockchain's mainstream credibility
Developer Ecosystem Growth: Open-source codebase provides templates and patterns for future community-focused dApps on Cardano
Network Effect Amplification: Each local hub creates new Cardano wallet users, NFT holders, and transaction volume, organically growing the ecosystem
Trust Mechanism Innovation: Proves blockchain's effectiveness for peer-to-peer trust without traditional institutions, inspiring similar applications
Onboarding Infrastructure: Creates user-friendly pathways for blockchain interaction, reducing technical barriers to Cardano adoption
Cooperative dApp Framework: Establishes replicable models for community governance and resource sharing on blockchain
Technological Impact
Pioneer model for hyperlocal resource sharing applications
Demonstration of blockchain's utility for community trust-building
Bridge between cooperative movement principles and modern decentralized technology
Our success metrics include the KPIs mentioned previously: GitHub engagement, platform adoption, community growth, blockchain utilization (NFT profiles and hub authentication), and quantifiable social impact through cost savings and community connection surveys.
BookHub represents a scalable model that could extend beyond books to other community resources, proving that decentralized technology can strengthen rather than replace human community bonds while driving meaningful Cardano ecosystem growth through practical utility.
What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?
Technical Expertise & Proven Track Record
I bring extensive experience in web and mobile application development, with a proven track record of delivering complex projects. Recent accomplishments include completing a mobile application for a project funded by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, and developing software for the Fund 9 proposal "Login with Cardano Wallet - cAuth." These projects demonstrate my capability to build sophisticated applications under demanding requirements.
The Indie Maker Advantage
Following principles from "MAKE: The Indie Maker Blueprint," I embrace the solo developer approach that has proven successful for countless indie projects. Working alone enables rapid iteration, direct user feedback integration, and maintaining clear product vision without committee dilution. This lean approach is particularly suited for BookHub's MVP phase, where quick pivots and community-driven development are essential. Many successful platforms - from early Twitter to Plenty of Fish - started with single developers who understood their users' pain points intimately.
Personal Investment & Market Understanding
I have a personal stake in this proposal - I want to use this app myself and see it adopted by others. As a parent of three avid readers who devour books and comics, I face the exact problem BookHub solves. Even our city's largest library can't keep up with their reading appetite. My wife regularly complains there are never enough books available, while the kids wait weeks for popular titles only to finish them in hours.
This personal experience gives me crucial user insight that external teams might miss. I've visited neighbors' homes and seen their well-stocked bookshelves - people who would gladly lend books if there was a platform handling the logistics. The infrastructure for sharing exists; we just need the trust and coordination system to unlock it.
Market Gap & Opportunity
Despite clear need for community book sharing, no existing software solutions address this problem. While platforms like Calibre-web focus on personal library management, and social reading platforms like Goodreads and Hardcover emphasize reviews and recommendations, none facilitate actual physical book sharing between community members. This represents a significant first-mover opportunity.
Technical Feasibility
The technology required for BookHub is straightforward and within my expertise. The core web platform presents no technical barriers, while the smart contract implementation - though the most complex component - is manageable with careful planning. My track record demonstrates this project is both implementable and feasible as a solo developer initiative.
The indie maker approach allows me to build exactly what the community needs, iterate quickly based on real user feedback, and maintain the project's cooperative spirit without corporate overhead or conflicting stakeholder interests.
Milestone Title
Working prototype
Milestone Outputs
The user stories have been written. Interface designed. First working version implemented.
We can create user profiles add books and create and join hubs.
The application is working and is accessible on a development domain. (link will be provided).
First version of product website is ready.
Smart contracts run on preprod network.
Acceptance Criteria
Application works.
We can create user profiles add books and create and join hubs in the alpha dApp. (mostly online, but service and status might interrupted by builds).
Data might be lost.
Demo video is publicly available.
Milestone report is publicly available.
Code is publicly available.
Evidence of Completion
Deliverables:
Delivery Month
3
Cost
19200
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
MVP Ready
Milestone Outputs
Fully functional beta version of the application running the official UI is working and is accessible on a public domain. (link will be provided).
Product website is updated and redesigned to match the official UI, documentation is updated, smart contracts run on the mainnet.
Data is mostly persisted, there still might be small errors (to be erradicated during the last 2 months).
Acceptance Criteria
Full feature demonstration video is publicly available.
Fully implemented dApp with production UI is available on a public domain.
Fully implemented product website with production UI is avaiable on a public domain.
Evidence of Completion
Delivery Month
6
Cost
19200
Progress
80 %
Milestone Title
Project Completion
Milestone Outputs
The dApp is working, reported errors have been fixed.
The website is working, documentation has been updated.
There is at least one active community with at least 10 active users.
Website reporting live stats is working (link provided).
Close-Out Video and Report are delivered.
Acceptance Criteria
Close-Out Video has been recorded and is publicly available.
Close-Out Report is completed and published, it is publicly available (link provided).
Project website is live and works correctly.
dApp is live and works correctly.
Stats are live and reporting correctly.
Evidence of Completion
Deliverables:
Delivery Month
9
Cost
9600
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
UI Design - 4000 ADA
Designing visual interface (possibly subcontracting)
Interface and application design - 7000 ADA
Designing user interface, writing user stories,
Development & Operations - 27000 ADA
Writing tests code, smart contracts, setting up build tools, integrating monitoring tools.
Live Deployment, Community Engagement - 6000 ADA
Deploying application. Gathering feedback, bugfixing, implementing improvements.
Management, Reporting and Documentation - 3000 ADA
Reports (including Close Out), demonstration videos, product website
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
This project will access a niche that has no been approached by anyone according to Catalyst project database.
User Onboarding & Adoption
BookHub serves as a gateway for mainstream blockchain adoption by introducing non-crypto users to Cardano through practical, daily utility. Unlike speculative DeFi applications, book sharing provides immediate, tangible value that motivates wallet creation and regular blockchain interaction. Each local hub represents dozens of new Cardano users who discover blockchain benefits organically through community participation rather than investment speculation.
Real-World Utility Demonstration
The platform showcases Cardano's capabilities beyond financial applications, proving blockchain's value for community governance, trust-building, and resource coordination. This practical implementation strengthens Cardano's position as a versatile platform for social impact applications, attracting developers and organizations focused on community solutions rather than purely financial products.
Network Effects & Transaction Volume
Every book lending request, reputation update, and community interaction generates authentic transaction volume on Cardano. As hubs multiply across neighborhoods and cities, the cumulative effect creates substantial, sustainable network activity driven by real user needs rather than artificial trading volume. This organic growth demonstrates healthy ecosystem development to potential institutional partners and developers.
NFT Ecosystem Development
BookHub's dual NFT model (user profiles and hub identities) creates a new category of utility-focused NFTs beyond collectibles and art. These identity and governance tokens establish patterns for community-based NFT applications, expanding Cardano's NFT ecosystem into practical use cases that justify their existence through daily utility rather than speculation.
Layer 2 Technology Validation
The Hydra implementation provides a real-world test case for Cardano's Layer 2 scaling solution, generating valuable usage data and demonstrating practical benefits to developers. Success with BookHub's micro-transaction model validates Hydra's viability for other community-focused applications, accelerating broader Layer 2 adoption across the ecosystem.
Developer Ecosystem Growth
Open-source codebase provides templates, patterns, and proven architectures for community-focused dApps. Other developers can fork BookHub's foundation to create similar resource-sharing platforms (tool libraries, skill exchanges, local markets), multiplying the ecosystem impact. The cooperative governance models and trust mechanisms become reusable infrastructure for the broader Cardano developer community.
Institutional Interest & Partnerships
Successful community libraries demonstrate blockchain's potential for social good, attracting partnerships with municipalities, educational institutions, and non-profits. These relationships can drive additional Cardano adoption through institutional wallet implementations and larger-scale community applications.
Global Replication Potential
The open-source model enables BookHub replication worldwide, with each new deployment bringing fresh communities into the Cardano ecosystem. Unlike region-specific applications, book sharing translates across cultures, creating a scalable path for global Cardano adoption through grassroots community building.
Economic Value Creation
By solving real community problems and reducing household expenses, BookHub creates measurable economic value that participants can directly attribute to their Cardano usage. This positive association strengthens user retention and encourages deeper ecosystem engagement beyond the initial book-sharing use case.
The cumulative effect positions Cardano as the blockchain of choice for community-driven applications, creating a differentiated market position focused on social impact and practical utility rather than purely financial speculation.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
Michał Wojtera:
full stack developer, sysadmin and researcher with 20+ years of experience in:
9 peer-reviewed publications: https://weeia.edu.p.lodz.pl/local/tulprofile/view_tile.php?id=2&name=publications&userid=1471&employeenumber=131113&edit=0&disabledalert=0
github: https://github.com/mwojtera
Roles: full-stack developer, sysadmin, manager