India university to digitize rare books

[Jared Moya]

NEW DELHI - The Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi plans to digitize its collection of books and manuscripts, some of them dating to the 16th century, to make them more accessible to researchers.

More than 1,600 rare books and 2,500 manuscripts, published from the 16th to 19th centuries, will be converted into digital form.

"Our primary aim is to help researchers from across the country to access the rare books, papers and manuscripts," S.M. Afzal, a university official, told the Hindustan Times.

The yearlong project, scheduled to begin in September, will "ensure that rare and valuable work is safely preserved in digital format for future generations," Afzal said.

The books and manuscripts are in different languages, including Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashtu and Punjabi. The library also has numerous collections of original papers relating to India's independence from British rule in 1947, including the private papers of many independence leaders.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060830/...k_digitization

[hoyasaxa]

I think that's a really cool idea. I don't like the thought of moving away from "real" hardcover books, becuase there really isn't anything like *real* books, to me, but in terms of preservation and protection of rare documents, I think it's awesome.