Come September, the Jamia Milia Islamia university in Delhi will begin digitizing around 1600 rare books and 2500 manuscripts, published between the 16th and 19th century. An MOU has been signed with CDAC. This is being done to ensure the preservation of the work, and to make it accessible to researchers. The manuscripts also include private papers of leaders from India’s struggle for independance.
Private papers in libraries remain accessible to few; but to make them digital, accessible and (maybe) online, is courting controversy since the text becomes more open to interpretation and debate than ever before.
Another attempt at digitization that I learnt about recently is the Traditional Knowledge Digitization Library (TKDL) project set up by the Government of India. Its purpose, however, is different – of translating and digitizing texts on traditional medicine in Unani and Sanskrit in order to prevent patents being awarded in countries unfamiliar with traditional Indian healing practices, like in the case of Neem. This is to meet the requirement of publication of prior art as per US patent law. I have a TKDL CD with me: the contents aren’t easily navigable, and the presentation is tacky.
Related:
– Government Plans Digitization Of A Million Books And Manuscripts
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