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This paper aims to popularize information retrieval from palm leaf manuscripts among computer scientists to make available the guidance of the age-old heritage in shaping the future.

With computer technology penetrating every aspect of life, information retrieval algorithms can be exploited to help build a system which can dig into the ocean of knowledge from these manuscripts.

The knowledge in them covers all aspects of life. Be it religious beliefs, literature, science, mathematics, or any other. However, due to discontinuation of practice of copying their content on fresh leaves, they now possess a fragile life which needs to be preserved at the earliest. The modern means of digitization can help in their preservation.

The Government of India and other organizations are doing commendable job of preserving and safeguarding country’s heritage and age-old knowledge system through the movement of digitization. In the years to come, the agonizing problem of manuscripts degradation will be eradicated completely. However, next when it will come to mining the knowledge treasure out of these manuscripts, we would be confronted with another helpless situation.

The digitization process would capture the manuscripts from present physical palm leaf to digital image form by clicking high-quality pictures. All the text in a palm leaf will be available in the form of images, but on these images, a simple search for any word would not be possible.

Working towards mining the treasure of knowledge from the palm leaf manuscripts, hordes of challenges have been outlined. Over and above the problem of preventing decay to palm leaf manuscripts is the challenge of deciphering text, image analysis, information retrieval and search. Search is further associated with issues of meaningful and useful extraction through semantic analysis. This paper advocates the dire need for systematic research to be undertaken in this field opening up avenues for past knowledge to guide future prospects in several domains.

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature about oriental manuscript collections in India and provide an overview of the area.

A core set of literature on oriental manuscript collections in India was retrieved after doing a thorough literature search in different databases. Literature on various aspects of this topic was reviewed. The paper is organized based on various themes to make the study fruitful for various sections of society.

Oriental manuscripts are present in different research libraries, university libraries and public libraries in India but university libraries are leading others in preserving these manuscripts, with few exceptions. Manuscripts are available in different oriental languages but mostly in Sanskrit. Every religious sect in India has contributed immensely in collecting and preserving these manuscripts. The contribution of famous kings of Indian history is also enormous in this regard.

The review does not claim to be exhaustive, as most sources might have been skipped during the study for their non‐availability.

This paper provides a concise overview of manuscripts present in different Indian libraries and research institution/universities and provides a valuable entry point to the field of Indian manuscripts for research scholars, information scientists and other interested parties.

The cultural heritage of the Lanna region of upper Northern Thailand is unique. One of its distinctive features is palm leaf manuscripts (PLMs), which are viewed simultaneously as examples of sacred writing and religious symbols, means of transferring cultural knowledge, artefacts of beauty and fragile historical documents. Local people still care about these objects, and speak the language but knowledge of the script is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of community members and experts about the value and management of PLMs as the basis for developing a model of community-based collection management.

Because the purpose was to explore differing perceptions and beliefs around PLMs the study adopted an interpretivist worldview. Data were collected through interviews with local people with an interest in PLMs and experts who advised on organising them. In addition, observation and a photo inventory method was used to collect data. Data were analysed thematically.

The results showed that while both groups saw the value of the knowledge PLMs contained, the community placed particular importance on the earning of “merit” through activities related to them as Buddhist objects. Experts gave particular emphasis to the knowledge of herbal medicine contained in the PLMs. The community valued indigenous storage and preservation practices. Experts were particularly pre-occupied with the intellectual property issue around medical knowledge and convenient storage and digitisation.

Existing theory around libraries, archives and museums suggest some starting points for how community participation might be managed, but the unique circumstances of Lanna PLMs calls for a distinctive approach.

The paper identifies a pathway suitable to the Lanna context that can build on current local practices, to enhance community participation in the management of PLMs, including a consideration of the role of information professionals.

This paper is one of the first to extend thinking about participatory practices in the library, archive and museum literature to the context of Thailand and specifically to the case of PLMs, in the Lanna region. Rigorous data analysis of a substantial body of evidence has enhanced the understanding of the different types of value placed on PLMs. It identifies an important but not unbridgeable tension between how local people and experts view PLMs. It builds on previous library, archive and museum theory to propose a realistic model of how communities and experts (including librarians) can work together to protect the rich cultural resource represented by PLMs.

Previously, the authors have indicated how the use of information and communications technology in India has encouraged rural development: the promotion oft digital libraries, e‐business, e‐learning and e‐governance have been effective ways of starting to bridge the digital divide in the sub‐continent. This follow‐up paper outlines traditional collections of significant cultural material in India which, once national information technology and knowledge management strategies are fully achieved, could form part of a digitally preserved national heritage collection.

The study is an endeavour to find out the preservation status of rare documents in Srinagar. The rare documents, here, mean the manuscripts and rare books, journals, reports, magazines, archival documents, etc. These resources are available in private libraries of individuals and religious institutions in Srinagar. This study aims to find these private libraries of individuals/families and religious institutions, which are unknown to the scholarly world and observe the preservation status of rare documents. The main focus is to document their present preservation status to give an opportunity to the stakeholders, particularly the government organizations, to take appropriate action before they are lost forever.

Before conducting the survey, the investigator interviewed 114 persons including literary persons, faith leaders, librarians, faculty members from various prominent institutions in Srinagar to get leads regarding the persons/families and religious institutions in possession of rare documents. The investigator gathered data through two different schedules and later analyzed the same in this study after carrying out a pilot study to make necessary changes to the schedules compiled for the study. The investigator visited personally each family/individual and religious institution to gather the data for months together.

An arduous job was carried out in which around 111 individuals/families and religious institutions were found to be having such rare resources. However, the data gathered reveals a dismal picture of private libraries and religious institutions, in possession of rare documents, as almost all caretakers/ families are devoid of any knowledge regarding the maintenance of these important sources of knowledge. Further, the traditional methods of preservation are still in vogue in some private libraries. These traditional methods have opened new areas of research while at the same time can prove detrimental to the collection if they are useless.

The study is the first of its kind in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir i.e. Srinagar. The study gives an idea of preservation status of manuscripts and rare documents including books, magazines, journals, archival documents, etc. so that the same are taken care of for posterity. The study is an eye-opener for the policymakers, conservators, archivists and others interested in historical documents. The study will help in furthering the research process as it needs to be ascertained whether the traditional methods of preservation are fruitful. In short, the study is quite helpful in understanding the nature of collection in Srinagar so that appropriate steps are taken by all particularly the Government in J&K. The paper will surely help in the policy formulation in the future.

Monastery libraries have, for centuries, been the hub of religious education and research. They house collections that are unique and even rare and have been useful to students of religion as well as to members of the public. Some, along with the monasteries to which they are attached, even serve as tourist attractions, being as they are ancient relics with rich culture and history. The Tawang Monastery, in Arunachal Pradesh, India, is one such monastery whose libraries are unique and valuable. This paper reports results of a study on the collection in the two libraries of Tawang Monastery which not only found that they are among the best in terms of format, variety and value but also discovered shortcomings like shortage in staff and space which need to be addressed at the earliest.

For this research, case study method was used by the researchers. The tools used for data collection were questionnaire and interview. This is because they were found to be easier and convenient methods to carry out this research. Apart from that, observation method was also carried out throughout the research period. Besides these field work research methods, literature review was also carried out to gather mostly historical and some background information about the monastic libraries in India. Internet searching was also carried out to find out other relevant information.

This study provides an enumerative account of collection development in the Tawang monastery libraries. During the study, certain pitfalls were noted. First, the ancient Parkhang library building is in a very precarious state of existence. In fact, the library building was undergoing renovation during the period of this study. Due to this very reason also, it’s collection of Kanjur and Tanjur religious texts have not been subjected to any preservation methods, although it is of utmost necessity.

During this particular period of study the ancient Parkhang library was undergoing the process of building renovation. In fact, the whole library building was deserted as a result, and was in topsy-turvy condition. The tour of the library hall was given, for whatever it was worth by the librarian himself, during which some photographs were taken. Hence, most of the data collection was possible only due to the dedicated cooperation of the monks and a few learned teaching staff of the monastery school. Much relevant information was collected through personal interviews, apart from the questionnaire sets. On the other hand, no such hindrance was faced for the data collection from the school library.

This study, to an extent, shows that the collection development in the Tawang monastery libraries (especially Parkhang library) is a very vital and important asset, both for the state of Arunachal Pradesh and for India as well. It is the first full-fledged study on collection development in the Tawang Monastery libraries, covering all aspects of the topic at hand, and can serve as a precedent to other such studies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between accounting and the early roots of the nation‐state in mid nineteenth‐century Siam/Thailand.

First, the paper examines the theoretical inter‐relationship between accounting and nationalism. Second, it relates this theoretical understanding to a study of the changing concepts, methods and structures of indigenous Siamese accounting at a time of transition when foreign mercantile influence was beginning to have an impact on the mid nineteenth^‐century Siamese economy. Third, the paper analyses how these accounting structures and practices came to constitute a socio‐political instrument, which contributed to the administrative development of a Siamese dynastic state by the mid nineteenth‐century. Finally, the paper studies the ways in which this dynastic state began to promote national characteristics through the use of its accounts to create a sense of Siamese cultural identity.

The findings emphasise the important role of accounting in the construction of political and national identity.

This inter‐disciplinary paper highlights a general neglect in the accounting literature of the instrumental role of accounting in nation‐state formation as well as offering a re‐interpretation of Thai historiography from an accounting viewpoint. Moreover as an example of alternative accounting practice, this paper provides an analysis of indigenous accounting methods and structures in mid nineteenth‐century Siam/Thailand at the point when they were becoming increasingly influenced by foreign mercantilism.

This paper provides background information on e‐books, and outlines their implementations, advantages and disadvantages. Details are given of the e‐book technologies of hardware and software with tables comparing the features of various products on the market. The role of e‐books in education in general is outlined. The specific case of India is described in more depth with details of initiatives for utilising e‐books for a national literacy mission. The paper concludes that, at present, viewing technology is a limiting factor but that in future content will become paramount.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the need for developing an Indian cultural heritage information system (CHIS) where the cultural heritages can efficiently document, manage and preserve and integrate with a searchable user interface mechanism. Further, the study scopes out the feasibility of developing single-window comprehensive national CHIS for all the cultural heritage properties of India enlisted in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Heritage list.

Conservation efforts and their sustenance require the support of a knowledge base cum digital archiving and information retrieval tool. The present study identifies the basic requirements, strategies and the execution of designing a reliable information system for cultural heritage inheritances to safeguard them to facilitate access to the current and future resilient communities. Approach on issues and challenges associated while developing such an information system has also been addressed with possible recommendations.

In India, even though regional level conservation efforts are occurring, no comprehensive information system, which gives the whole perspective of the item or environment of heritage site, has been developed for the heritage sites recognized by UNESCO in its World Heritage list from India. Developing such a comprehensive digital archive for cultural heritage helps to showcase its assets and ensures its visibility globally without hampering the physical form. Application Information and Communication Technology and digital technologies can extensively be used coupled with mechanisms such as mobile devices, digital systems and content visualization techniques to support the efficient and effective management in a systemized way.

As a pilot study, this paper examined the cultural heritage properties incorporated in the UNESCO World list. There are many lesser-known and unprotected cultural heritages in different parts of the country having artistic value and the unique characteristics, and the possibility of building the similar kind of information system for them with innovative technological solutions are not covered under this study.

Access to such an exclusive digital archive in a single-window platform would greatly support administrators, tourist departments, culture departments, development administration and conservation activists. The digital version of cultural inheritances created under the cultural heritage of India must have relevance to different subject fields such as history, archeology, manuscript logy, art, administration, knowledge management, computer science and library science. Also, it ensures that the resources remain accessible to the public without any restrictions provided with a comprehensive recapitulation.

To the authors’ best knowledge, no such comprehensive system envisages or is practiced in the country. Developing such a system with technological and data infrastructure also helps to understand the value, support the activities related to cultural heritage and bring the local community to support and initiate such heritage conservation activities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the scope, issues and challenges in conceptualizing a comprehensive cultural heritage information system (CHIS) in the Indian context and examines the feasibility of designing such a system with the support of advanced conservation strategies and technological aids.

As the conservation efforts and its sustenance requires the support of a knowledge base cum digital archiving tool, comprehensions on the availability and usage of different software tools are indispensable. Assessing the availability of controlled vocabularies, ontology frameworks, metadata standards, classification schemes and architectural designs, language compatibility for implementing cultural heritage system is inevitable for developing CHIS. The present study examines the availability of such schemes and systems and emphasis the need for developing a reliable information system.

A comprehensive system at the country level to efficiently document, manage and update the knowledge on cultural heritage is required. CHIS created can be engaged in visualizing the cultural heritages of the country and can act as an interactive multimedia documentation system. The virtual recreation of cultural heritage in a holistic manner can also ensure its long-term sustainability.

The digital archive of different expressions will be a rich source of data for research, administration and development. The archive developed should cover the cultural heritage depicted in the form of published documents, images, audios and videos, documents and visuals on performing arts, buildings, sculptures, ecosystem, monuments, utensils, etc. and the history and knowledge pertaining to them and any other property belonging to the heritage.