British library will digitize 4,000 Bengali books, having around 800,000 pages, as a part of the UK India Culture plan for 2017. The project of digitization is led by the British Library and funded by the Newton fund, and is part of the 'Two Centuries of Indian Print' project, to digitize a set of books printed using unique material from South Asia. The books are highly popular among readers and have been translated into 22 South Asian languages.The project proposes to also find how effective are the digital methods and techniques while digitizing the collection of books. It will offer various digital skills training and practical sessions to understand the innovative methods as a part of South Asian studies.
Project details reveal that 500,000 pounds from the Newton Fund, which were donated to 'Two Centuries of Indian Print’ allows the digitization of South Asian books along with its 6,000 volumes. Most of the books digitized are rare and fragile publications, and since these collections are still in demand, researchers will definitely benefit from it. As part of the project, British Library offers to partner with Indian institutions and to share its knowledge, experience and skills while digitizing scholarships and to expand the research work.
Chairman of British library, Baroness Blackstone,expressed excitement about the project and said it will help in offering advanced printing techniques to South Asia and will digitize millions of pages, which will benefit many researchers. He is eager to meet the Indian counterpart in the project and has thanked the supporters who are offering the fund for the project. Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said the project is very inspiring and will surely benefit the researchers and the public, when the world’s largest collection of South Asian books will be hosted by the British library.