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Panjab Digital Library

The Panjab Digital Library is a voluntary organization digitizing and preserving the cultural heritage of Panjab since 2003. With over 65 million digitized pages, it is the biggest resource of digital material on Panjab.[1] There are many historically significant documents stored and made available online. Its scope covers Sikh and Punjabi culture.[2] The library funded by The Nanakshahi Trust was launched online in August 2009. Its base office is located at Chandigarh, India.[3]

Panjab Digital Library
LocationChandigarh, Punjab, India
TypeDigital library
Established2003
Collection
Items collectedManuscripts, books, photographs, newspapers, magazines, sound recordings
Size700,000+ titles, 65 million pages digitized
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a genuine need to use the collection
Other information
DirectorDavinder Pal Singh
FundingDonations
Websitepanjabdigilib.org
Gifted by Royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government
Panjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh issued coins from 1800 to 1848
Published in 1783 by James Rennel
Digitized from Chandigarh Museum
Circa late 18th century
Most of these have been damaged and do not exist in original
Gifted by the royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government

The library's mission is to locate, digitize, preserve, collect and make accessible the accumulated wisdom of the Panjab region, without distinction as to script, language, religion, nationality, or other physical condition.[4]

Davinder Pal Singh is the co-founder and the executive director of the Panjab Digital Library, contributing significantly to its mission of preserving Punjab's cultural heritage.[1][5]

Coverage

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PDL is interested in digitizing anything which is lying in the Panjab region (Panjab, Haryana, Himachal, Kashmir and Pakistan). It is also interested to digitize anything concerning the Panjab region or in Gurmukhi script lying anywhere in the world. PDL is an archive being presented in the form of a library. It digitizes manuscripts from rural areas with the same vigor as it digitizes government files for posterity. It also operates abroad, such as in the United Kingdom.[6]

Outreach projects

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Library at Virasat-e-Khalsa – PDL signed an agreement with Anandpur Sahib Foundation to develop and manage a library at Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum. PDL plans to establish a library of books related to Panjab's art, culture, and history. Rare manuscripts and old magazines will also become part of it. Amongst all these, newspapers will be kept in a big way. About 15 titles from 1960 onwards will be part of the library. A small library shop to sell interesting books and ephemeral material is also on the agenda. PDL opened this library in May 2016.

Current projects

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Digitization Projects

  • Punjab State Archives

Exhibitions

  • Morcha Guru Ka Bagh
  • Guru TeghBahadar Sahib

Major institutions digitized

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Major personal libraries digitized

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  • 1. Jathedar Dalip Singh, Malu Nangal
  • 2. Dr. Surinder Singh, Chandigarh
  • 3. Sodhi Family, Anandpur Sahib
  • 4. Mahant Mastan Singh, Dharamkot
  • 5. Dr. Gurcharan Singh, Patiala
  • 6. Dr. Man Singh Nirankari, Chandigarh
  • 7. Dr. Madanjit Kaur, Chandigarh
  • 8. Brij Mohan Singh, Dehradun
  • 9. Dera Sewa Panthi, Yamuna Nagar
  • 10. Prof. Pritam Singh, Patiala
  • 11. Gurmail Singh, Patiala
  • 12. Gurtej Singh (Ex. IAS), Chandigarh
  • 13. Joginder Singh Talwara, Sri Amritsar
  • 14. Chetan Singh, Patiala
  • 15. Dalip Singh Jathedar, Mallu Nangal
  • 16. Dr. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon
  • 17. Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba, Jalandhar
  • 18. Harvinder Singh Phoolka (Advocate, Supreme Court), New Delhi
  • 19. Mohan Singh, Chandigarh
  • 20. Mahant Kamaljit Singh, Moga
  • 21. Prof. Malvinderjit Singh Waraich
  • 22. Dr. Kirpal Singh, Chandigarh
  • 23. Jasvinder Singh, Nagpur
  • 24. Anurag Singh, Ludhiana
  • 25. Dr. Harnam Singh Shan, Chandigarh
  • 26. Dr. Jaswant Singh Neki, New Delhi
  • 27. Dr. Gurdev Singh Sidhu, Chandigarh
  • 28. Dr. Kanwarjit Singh Kang, Chandigarh
  • 29. Giani Gurdit Singh, Chandigarh
  • 30. Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi, Una
  • 31. Anup Khosla | Dr. GB Singh, Noida
  • 32. Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, IAS, Chandigarh
  • 33. Bhayee Sikander Singh, Chandigarh
  • 34. Dr. PC Sharma, Chandigarh
  • 35. SB Durga, Chandigarh
  • 36. Princess Suraj DTVI, Chamba
  • 37. Raja Budhishwar Pal, Nalagarh

and many more public and personal libraries.

Major activities

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  • 2009 Nov - Exhibition "Deposition Dispensation: Digitization Directions" was inaugurated by H.E. Gen (Retd.) Dr. S. F. Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. A special Monograph was also released on the occasion.
  • 2009 Dec - Participated and presented a paper in the Parliament of World's Religions at Melbourne, Australia.
  • 2010 Feb - Participated and presented a paper titled ‘Panjab Digital Library: Revealing the Heritage of Panjab’ International Conference on Digital Libraries at New Delhi in February 2010.
  • 2010 Feb - A month-long mobile exhibition was organized on Architectural Heritage of Panjab at Rose Festival, Chandigarh. The exhibition was on display from 26 February 2010 to 28 March 2010. The theme of the exhibition was "Unveiling the Architecture of the Greater Panjab".
  • 2010 Apr - Heritage walk was organized for students of KVRSM School of Chandigarh. About 45 students were taken to Manimajra fort for awareness about the heritage. They were given a lecture about the importance of Heritage.
  • 2010 Apr - Exhibited heritage of Panjab at Beant Singh Memorial, Chandigarh. The exhibition was visited among others by His Excellency Shri Shiv Raj Patil, Governor of Panjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
  • 2011 Aug - A webinar "De-Freezing 1930s Panjab" was presented online. The webinar focused on sharing one of PDL's surprise treasures: photographs were taken by Bhai Dhana Singh on a bicycle tour of Panjab of various shrines. The presenters then attempted to visit those shrines again in modern times and see what had changed over the decades.
  • 2010 Oct - PDL helped set up a museum at Jagdhari. Sh. Harmohinder Singh Chattha, then Speaker of Haryana Assembly inaugurated in presence of Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. D.D.S. Sandhu, PVSM, VC of Kurukshetra University.
  • 2010 Nov - Students of DAV College, Yamuna Nagar visited PDL office to have a first-hand experience of behind the scene activities of a digital library and digitization project.
  • 2011 Oct - The Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib coordinated a workshop on 7–8 October 2011 on "Studies on Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Utilization of Computer and Digital Technology." PDL was honored to be presented as a case study in preserving the heritage and facilitating ongoing studies.
  • 2012 Feb - Developed a permanent installation of "The Khalsa Raj: Banda Battles & Body Politic" exhibition at Singh Sabha Gurduara in Southhall, UK.
  • 2012 Apr - Developed and Exhibited "The Khalsa Raj: Banda Battles & Body Politic" exhibition at City Center Library, Surrey
  • 2013 Jul - In collaboration with HRI Southasia, Panjab Digital Library developed an exhibition LIVED STORIES, EVERYDAY LIVES. The exhibition was displayed for the first time at Punjab Kala Bhawan Chandigarh. Afterward, the exhibition traveled to Daudpur village, Khanna district, Panjab.
  • 2014 Nov - Organized painting competition and exhibition at Chhapar Chiri, Mohali
  • 2014 Nov - Helped Punjab Government with the reprinting of Emly Eden's lithographs for Progressive Punjab Summit
  • 2015 Feb - Honored for extraordinary contribution in the field of Digital Library at a conference organized by Bhutta College of Education. Presented a lecture at the conference.
  • 2015 Feb - Working with National archives of India to develop policies and standards for digitization.
  • 2015 Feb - Provided data backup services to Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board for their rare records.
  • 2015 Feb - Organized an exhibition at Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial at Chhapar Chiri, Mohali
  • 2015 Nov - Helped Punjab Government with the reprinting of Prince Waldemar's lithographs for Progressive Punjab Summit
  • 2015 Dec - Signed an agreement with Anandpur Sahib Foundation to develop and operate a library at Virasat-e-Khalsa Museum.
  • 2016 Dec - In collaboration with Bihar Government organized an exhibition, "Emperor-Prophet Guru Gobind Singh Sahib" at Bihar Museum, Patna
  • 2017 Feb - Exhibition "Emperor-Prophet Guru Gobind Singh Sahib" at Virasat-e-Khalsa, Anandpur
  • 2017 Apr - Photographed 150 protected monuments of Panjab
  • 2017 Nov - Curated an Exhibit titled "Monuments of Panjab" for Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chandigarh on the occasion of a National Seminar
  • 2017 Dec - Curated & Produced a portfolio on "Military Tradition of Panjab" for Military Literature Festival
  • 2018 Mar - Curated an Exhibit titled "Mid-Nineteenth Century: Fall of the Sikh Empire and Transition in Polity and Socio-Cultural Milieu (1839-1849)" at Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Chandigarh on the occasion of a National Seminar
  • 2018 Mar - Curated a catalog of artifacts for Indian Railways Museum at Shimla
  • 2018 Nov - Curated and Published "Guns of Glory: Sikh Guns & Inscriptions" for Military Literature Festival, Government of Punjab
  • 2019 Nov - Curated and organized a visual art exhibition on Guru Nanak Sahib at Sultanpur Lodhi, Government of Punjab[8][9]
  • 2019 Dec - Curated and Published a catalog of miniatures on the "Life & Legacy of Guru Nanak Sahib" for Military Literature Festival, Government of Punjab
  • 2024 Jul - Curated and hosted an exhibition titled "The Sikh Empire 1710-1849: Perspectives by International Artists & Authors".[10]

Growth

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* Estimated pages to be digitized by the year end

In 2003, the first year of operations, 60,000 pages were digitized.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sharma, Sarika (23 April 2023). "20 years of Panjab Digital Library". The Tribune. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ David Rothman. "Panjab Digital Library launched : Millions of rare pages on the Sikhs and the region". Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Panjab Digital Library Goes Online at Chandigarh". Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  4. ^ Rattan, Pardeep (2013). "Role of Panjab Digital Library in Digitizing Manuscripts: A Case Study". Library Philosophy and Practice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2023.
  5. ^ Sethi, Chitleen K. (19 December 2018). "In Punjab, a library's silent digital revolution is preserving the state's heritage". ThePrint. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Preserving the heritage – Panjab Digital Library launched in the United Kingdom". Sikh Siyasat. Sikh Siyasat Bureau. 19 February 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "Digitizing manuscripts at Takhat Sri Patna Sahib". www.indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Exhibition "Guru Nanak The Sovereign" Unveiled in SultanPur Lodi". SikhNet. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  9. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Religious congregation to mark Guru Nanak's anniversary". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Relics of an empire". TribuneIndia.com. The Tribune. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Panjab Digital Library's record digitisation in 2021 and the road ahead". The World Sikh News. January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022.
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