[** Again, we have here what is a somewhat forced categorization, as
most projects that are engaged in "document preservation" are also doing
"input," but the groups listed here below, have either started with, or
have held as a primary concern the matter of preservation of documents.]
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Project Name: The International
Dunhuang Project at the British Library
Project Representative:Dr. Susan Whitfield
The scattering of Dunhuang manuscripts in different libraries has always
been a major obstacle for researchers. While the British Library owns some
28,000 items coming from Dunhuang, most of them Buddhist canonical texts,
the total number of Dunhuang texts and fragments kept in world collections
is estimated at over 100,000 items.The existing database, designed on the
Macintosh using the 4th Dimension relational database, shows how bibliographical
information can be combined with graphic images. High resolution images
should allow researchers to access the original texts without endangering
the fragile papers on which they are recorded. Deciphering of these texts
and full annotation of their content will at a later stage be supplemented
by scholars belonging to different areas of specialization. Due credit
will be given to all those who provide information.
Recent developments: During the past eighteen months, improvements
have been made in the functionality and content of the database. Plans
for further development include further scanning, linking to other sources
and internet availability.
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Project Name: Cambodian Manuscript Preservation
Project Representative(s): Olivier De Bernan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Dr. De Bernan's project is concerned with the preservation of perishable
documents, but with a special urgency, in view of the political instability
which has persisted in Cambodia. Having made significant progress in the
initial stage of image-preservation, they are now setting out on the effort
of textual digitization.
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Project Name: Fragile Palm Leaves: Scanning Horizons
Project Representative(s): Peter Skilling, Nonthaburi, Thailand
The traditional method of copying and transmitting Buddhist texts in
Thailand was writing them on palm leaves, which, amazingly durable, were
then bound into volumes ranging in thickness from anywhere between 100
and 600 leaves. Prof. Skilling's project is attempting to preserve the
content of these palm-leaf scriptures by scanning. The files created from
this scanning work are now being developed in the form of a database.
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Project Name: South Asia Resources Database: A New Tool for the
Study of South Asia
Project Representative(s): Ian Dawes, Curtin University of Technology,
Perth, Australia
Ian Dawes' project covers a variety of media and disciplines, ranging
far beyond the basic work of preservation and cataloging of Buddhist texts.
In addition to texts, various cultural/religious practices are recorded
into the database on slides.
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