Panjab Digital Library

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Panjab Digital Library
Panjab Digital Library New Logo.jpg
Location Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Type Digital library
Established2003
Collection
Items collected Manuscripts, books, photographs, newspapers, magazines, sound recordings
Size1,000,000+ titles, over 85 million pages digitized
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a genuine need to use the collection
Other information
DirectorDavinder Pal Singh
FundingDonations
Website panjabdigilib.org
Gifted by Royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government Dastar, Kanga & Kesh of Guru Gobing Singh ji.jpg
Gifted by Royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government
Panjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh issued coins from 1800 to 1848 Coin of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.jpg
Panjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh issued coins from 1800 to 1848
Published in 1783 by James Rennel Map, Country of the Sikhs, 1782.jpg
Published in 1783 by James Rennel
Digitized from Chandigarh Museum Copy of Janamsakhi Bhai Bala.jpg
Digitized from Chandigarh Museum
Circa late 18th century Utara Damdami Bir,.jpg
Circa late 18th century
Most of these have been damaged and do not exist in original Mural at Gurduara Baba Atal Sahib.jpg
Most of these have been damaged and do not exist in original
Gifted by the royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government From the hands of Guru Gobind Singh ji, as claimed by the custodians.jpg
Gifted by the royal family of Nabha to Punjab Government

The Panjab Digital Library is a voluntary organization digitizing and preserving the cultural heritage of Panjab since 2003. With over 85 million digitized pages, it is the biggest resource of digital material on Panjab. [1] [2] There are many historically significant documents stored and made available online. Its scope covers Sikh and Punjabi culture. [3] The library funded by The Nanakshahi Trust was launched online in August 2009. Its base office is located at Chandigarh, India. [4]

Contents

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. [5]

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] [6]

Coverage

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. [7]

Outreach projects

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

Digitization Projects

Exhibitions

Major institutions digitized

Major personal libraries digitized

and many more public and personal libraries.

Major activities

Growth

Panjab Digital Library Growth Chart (2022).png

* Estimated pages to be digitized by the year end

In 2003, the first year of operations, 60,000 pages were digitized. [12] By December 2024, over 85 million pages had been digitzed. [2]

Current stats

Items digitized by the PDL up until December 2024 [2]
Media typeNumber digitzed
Books87,700+
Files (pre-1947)545,000+
Manuscripts12,350+
Magazines18,600+
Pamphlets3,900+
Maps10,700+
Pictures211,000+
Articles47,000+
Documents19,000+
Newspapers40,000+
Posters2,700+
Coins33,000+
Letters10,500+
Poems16,000+
Legal documents6,000+

References

  1. 1 2 Sharma, Sarika (23 April 2023). "20 years of Panjab Digital Library". The Tribune. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Preserving Heritage, One Page at a Time: Documents Digitized by PDL (2003-2024). Over 85 Million Pages Digitized". Twitter. Panjab Digital Library. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. 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.
  4. "Panjab Digital Library Goes Online at Chandigarh". Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. "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)
  8. "Digitizing manuscripts at Takhat Sri Patna Sahib". www.indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  9. "Exhibition "Guru Nanak The Sovereign" Unveiled in SultanPur Lodi". SikhNet. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. Service, Tribune News. "Religious congregation to mark Guru Nanak's anniversary". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  11. "Relics of an empire". TribuneIndia.com. The Tribune. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  12. "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.