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Digitisation of rare works on

K. Subramanian

Photo: M. Srinath

FOR POSTERITY: Rare manuscripts and books being digitised in Sarasvati Mahal Library. —

THANJAVUR: Digitisation of rare palm leaf and paper manuscripts, books and maps began at Thanjavur Maharajah Serfoji’s Saraswati Mahal Library here last week. Facilities required for the project were provided by S. V. Digital Library of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Tirupati.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between S. V. Digital Library and the library here to this effect last year. Collector M. S. Shanmugam, who is also the Director of the library, said that nearly 50,000 ancient manuscripts (23,347 palm leaf and 25,527 paper manuscripts) in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and Modi (a variant of Devanagari) languages on literature, medicine, grammar, astrology, astronomy and rare books, including nearly 4,500 from the collection of Rajah Serfoji, the Mahratta king of Thanjavur, would be digitised in three years.

The library had installed a microfilming unit in 1980 and 500 rare manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi had been microfilmed. In the second phase, 13,062 Sanskrit manuscripts were recorded in microfilm form.

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