Monday 23 August 2010

Archives


It is also host to an architectural archive which consists of a catalogue collection of photographs of buildings and architectural features in Tibet and the Himalayan region. Many of the buildings recorded in this archive no longer exist. Consequently, the collection provides an invaluable glimpse into Tibet’s erstwhile magnificent architectural heritage.

The Archives have seen rapid growth in recent years. The collections include government unrecorded aspects of Tibetan life pre- and post 1959. Many scholars consult these, and the Photographic archives’ collection of negatives and slides, which include black and white and colour photographs taken by American travellers Tolstoy and Dolan in the 1940s. Many photographs are displayed in the Library itself.

ARTICLES

History of Tashi Ling Tibetan Refugee Settlement (Pokhara)
The purpose of these links to the Tashi Ling archive on the Library website is to make the readers understand the Tibetan refugees and  their conditions in Nepal after 1964, following the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The archive shows how the refugees merely survive  on the alms and the inadequate rations provided.  It goes on to show the outstanding roles of Nepal Red Cross, United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the three members of the Cambridge team namely Mr. David Macpherson, Mr. Roger Catchpole and Mr. John Pearce(late) had been assisting these Tibetan refugees to rehabilitate and to adjust with the climatic changes, food, people and their local Nepali language. Finally it tells the story of the courage, determination and achievements  of the 600 Tibetan refugees as they worked to build their own community and a new life for their people.[...]

QUICK STATS

Data from 2009:

• Over 27,000 hours of recorded resources on Tibetan culture, Buddhism, etc.
• 12,000 photographs, negatives and slides of Tibet.

SUB-SECTIONS

Museum
The Museum, located on the first floor of the Library, originated as a repository of art and artefacts offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was laid out in [...]

Photography
The library's photographic archive presents a vivid catalogue of more than 12,000 images from Tibet and of Tibetan life in exile. Initiated with the aim of conserving and [...]

Audio / Visual
Audio visual archive is primarily a collection of all the rare materials related with the Tibetans recording both religious and secular life. It was dedicated to factual recording of contemporary [...]

Oral History
The Oral History program was begun in 1976. Since then taped interviews with elders, Lamas and other religious figures, craftspeople, doctors and astrologers, story-tellers, traders and pilgrims have been recorded. [...]