April 23, 2021, 1:03pm
Exciting news: Tibet’s ancient books protection center has uploaded over twenty thousand folios of rare, ancient books and documents to the Tibet Library’s official website. Users are able to search, copy and download all documents for free.
This is a major step forward for archive accessibility—for researchers, history enthusiasts, and simply curious individuals, who can now access biographies of Tibetan scholars and historical documents ranging from the 12th to the 20th century. “Previously only a few scholars read the books due to the complex application procedure and other steps,” said Penpa Tsering, deputy director of the center. “Now they are available for global readers and can better serve society.”
The library’s website has received record high traffic since the documents were uploaded—and its success predicts a future for other free databases in this vein. Said Penpa Tsering, “I believe there will be more similar platforms in the future as a solid foundation for the preservation and inheritance of traditional cultural classics.”
[via XinHuaNet]