PDL-Newsletter | September

Asu 543 | September 2011

PDL Newsletter

      "ਦਰਿਆਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਮੇਲੇ ਏਥੇ, ਦਰਿਆਵਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਵਿਛੋੜੇ,
      ਡੂੰਘੇ ਤੇ ਲੰਮੇ ਸਾਰੇ, ਵੱਡੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਦਰਦ ਓ,
      ਮੈਨੂੰ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਜਿਹਾ ਮੁਲਕ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ ਨਾ ਦਿਸਦਾ "
                                                         - ਪੂਰਨ ਸਿੰਘ

As September passes by, we at Panjab Digital Library (PDL) would be humbly grateful if you'd remember to spread the word about our efforts to your friends and acquaintances (and on Facebook).

If you'd like to be involved with PDL as a volunteer (anywhere in the world!) we have a new program to integrate the generous offers for assistance we've received over the years. Spend some time with our Volunteer Appeal and see how easy it could be to spread awareness of PDL in your communities!

In this Issue

• The Digital Scorecard

• From Daljit's Desk

• De-Freezing 1930s

• Projects In the Scanner

• How Can You Help?

• THANKS to our Donors

The Digital Scorecard

What the Panjab Digital Library archived in August:

• 117,666 pages
• 65 Manuscripts
• 250 books
• 120 magazines
• 358 pamphlets
• 70 photographs
• 13950 GB of digital data

We'll keep you updated with our progress every month, but don't just stop at the numbers! Hop over to PanjabDigitalLibrary.org and browse through the plethora of digitized data and estimate the effort that it takes to locate, collect, digitize, preserve and make this rare collection web-ready!

From the Desk of Daljit Ami

A Mystery Waiting to be Unbundled...

The Executive Director of PDL and I headed out to pay one of our regular visits to S. Gurdev Singh, a former Chairperson of the Punjab School Education Board. While waiting at the front door, I noticed a large pile of books on the staircase. They were bundled and caked in dust; most of the books had soft bindings and the paper had become brittle; the titles on the spines were written in Urdu. Though personally I have little knowledge of the language, I was intrigued because Urdu was the medium of instruction in most of the schools pre-partition and many generations completed their schooling in Urdu.

As you can assume, these books had caught my attention and I became even more curious when Gurdev Singh ji told me that even he could not read Urdu. Why then had he held onto these books for so long that he couldn't read, I wondered?

Projects In the Scanner

Continuing from last month's update on projects under progress, we would like to inform about the new additions this month.

The personal library of Dr. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon has been added to the list of projects under digitization. Dr. Dhillon wrote his doctoral thesis in 1974 on "Impact of Singh Sabha movement on History of Panjab." Thus he collected huge contemporary material on the subject. After over 80 years, the material is being preserved for the next generation. The efforts of Dr. Dhillon in preserving the material during the time he was its scholar-custodian will be visible to coming generations as well. He has also donated a collection of rare material to PDL for preservation, including issues of Phulwari, Preetlari, Kirti and Pritam from the 1920s and '30s.

Thank you Dr. Dhillon, for being a responsible custodian for over four decades and for enriching PDL's digital as well as physical archives by donating the invaluable material. We assure you that the originals too will be preserved for future generations.

How Can You help?


•	Spread awareness. Tell more people about us. Send them link to this newsletter, to our website, to our Facebook channel!

•	Use the vast resources of PDL for an article, a research project or an academic paper you're writing.

•	Donate Money. One Dollar. That's all it takes to push a project a little further ahead. We're serious: One Dollar.

•	Submit documents for digitization. Enrich our collection and the world's understanding of the Panjab and her people. Submissions can be returned upon request.

	SOCIAL MEDIA: http://www.facebook.com/PanjabDigiLib.org

A Special THANK YOU to our donors and supporters.

We have raised $100,000 towards PDL's Chandigarh office with your energies and enthusiasm. That is a third of our goal already achieved. We need to raise another $200,000 by December 2011. We need more sponsors at $5,000 or $10,000 levels. Without your contributions to PDL, this organization's progress would be virtually impossible!

Special Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make our fundraiser in London such a successful and enjoyable event. If you're interested in organizing a fundraiser in your area, we'd love to hear from you!

Every contribution, be it time, money, or a thoughtful comment on Facebook, makes a difference and is greatly appreciated!

REVEALING the Invisible Heritage of Panjab

Panjab Digital Library

Address
Plot Number 1, Sector 28-A, Chandigarh, India - 160027

SOCIAL MEDIA:

DONATE NOW

	+91 981 411 3047 (South Asia)		info@panjabdigilib.org		www.PanjabDigitalLibrary.org
	+1-210-704-7096 (North America)

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