Dear professional colleagues, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts(IGNCA) in collaboration with ANWESHA, Guwahati is organizing a three-days Workshop on "Status of digitization, Digital Preservation and Access to Libraries and Archive in North-East India" at Guwahati during January, 2011. The exact dates of the Workshop will be announced very soon. The Workshop is aimed for participation only for the Libraries and Archives in North-East India. In this context, the essence of digitization is safe preservation of invaluable books and manuscripts and their easy access to the users. The climatic conditions in the North-East and the area's proneness to natural calamities make the preservation of valuable books and manuscripts an uphill task in the region. Because of our lackadaisical attitudes and lack of awareness, we have already lost precious books and documents of historical importance. Through digitization and digital preservation of books and manuscripts, we can safely preserve them. Preservation alone is not enough. We should also have easy access to the preserved materials for its meaningful use. E-access to digital libraries and archives saves us the money, time and energy of visiting locations for their use. It also paves the way for intellectual resource sharing. Unfortunately, we have not done enough towards digitization and digital preservation of our books and manuscripts in the libraries and archives in the North-East. The conservation needs of the region, in this respect demand that we have a fresh look at the status of digitization and digital preservation of our libraries and archives. Equally important is the issue of easy access to the books in the libraries and archival materials. Therefore, the proposed workshop will mainly focus on the following:- Conservation and preservation needs of the libraries and archives in the North-East. Identification of libraries and archive of historical significance. Collaboration between IGNCA and libraries and archives in North-East. Acquisition of personal libraries and archives from North East, India. The workshop will comprise an inaugural session, technical session, panel discussion and a valedictory session. It is expected that this workshop will offer us a road map towards digitization, digital preservation and easy access to the libraries and archives in the North-East, thus leading to a new collaborative effort of IGNCA and Anwesha. Exhibition on Rare and Old Books and Manuscripts: Weather in Assam is wet and humid in most part of the year which is not at all conducive for the longevity of books and manuscripts. But still there are many rare and old books and manuscripts in various institutions and personal hands in Assam. The objective as this exhibition will be to create awareness among the younger generation for better preservation of the invaluable books and manuscripts, because they are so integral part of our culture and enlightenment. The occasion will also be used to motivate prospective scholars, authors and book collectors to donate their personal collection of books to IGNCA for better preservation and use. The more details about the workshop will be made available at IGNCA website www.ignca.nic.in very soon. All the libraries/archives in North-East India are requested to participate in above events. The libraries and archives that unable to get travel support from their organization will be provided travel support also. There is no participation fee and registration will be confirmed on the basis of suitability of the participants to the Workshop. The lodging & boarding will be provided by the organizers to all the participants. Apart from lectures from the experts, selected presentations in form of case studies, project proposals and status paper may be accepted for presentation at the Workshop. The registration will be on first come first basis plus suitability of the participant to the event. Please send your nominations/proposals to the undersigned at gaur@ignca.nic.in. Regards, Yours sincerely, (Ramesh C.Gaur) PS: Please let us know if any Conference/Workshop/Seminar is being organized in January, 2011 in North-East India. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Ramesh C Gaur PGDCA, MLISc,Ph.D. Fulbright Scholar (Virginia Tech, USA) Librarian & Head-Kala Nidhi and Kala Kosha Divisions Coordinator- ABIA International Index Project Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts(IGNCA) (An Autonomous Trust under Ministry of Culture. Govt. of India) 11 Man Singh Road, New Delhi-110001 Phone: 91-11-23388333, 23385884 Fax: 91-11-23385884 Mobile: 91-9810487158 URL: www.ignca.gov.in Email: gaur@ignca.nic.in; rcgaur@bol.net.in http://www.ignca.nic.in/PDF_data/Profile_Dr_RC_Gaur.pdf -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.