The Digital South Asia Library (DSAL) is a global collaboration to provide universal access to materials for reference and research on

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

n topics, utilizing digital technologies, to scholars, public officials, business leaders, and other users. Participants in the Digital South Asia Library include leading U.S. universities, led by the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, the

Center for Research Libraries The Center for Research Libraries (also known by its acronym, CRL) is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research library, research libraries, based on a buy-in concept for membership of the consortia. The cons ...

, the South Asia Microform Project, the Committee on South Asian Libraries and Documentation, the

Association for Asian Studies The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Asia and the study of Asia. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The Association provides members with an Annu ...

, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

, the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Ma ...

American Institute of Indian Studies The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), founded in 1961, is a consortium of 90 universities and colleges in the United States that promotes the advancement of knowledge about India in the U.S. It carries out this purpose by: awarding fello ...

, the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

, the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in India,

Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya Madan Puraskār Pustakālaya ( ne, मदन पुरस्कार पुस्तकालय) is a library of books and periodicals in the Nepali language. The library is a not-for-profits and non-governmental institution that is run by a t ...

in Nepal, and other institutions in South Asia.

Funding

This project builds upon a two-year pilot project funded by the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research ...

' Global Resources Program with support from The

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pit ...

."Digital South Asia Library,
''Focus''
24, no. 3 (2005). The

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departme ...

has provided support through four grants under the

Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access (TICFIA) The Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access (TICFIA) grant program is a United States Department of Education Title VI grant program that provides grants to develop innovative techniques or programs that address na ...

program and two grants under the International Research and Studies (IRS) program. A grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...

made possible the formation of the

South Asia Union Catalogue The South Asia Union Catalogue, a component of the Digital South Asia Library, is a bibliography of books and periodicals published in the Indian subcontinent from 1556 through the present.Nye, James, "A Union Catalogue for South Asia,''Focus'' 24, ...

, a subordinate program under the Digital South Asia Library.

Related projects

"List of digital dictionaries", ''Digital Dictionaries of South Asia'' website
*

South Asian Microform Project The South Asian Microform Project, also known by South Asian Materials Project and SAMP is one of six programs headed by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Global network. SAMP preserves higher education material via microform, among other t ...

References

External links

"Digital South Asia Library", University of Chicago
{{Authority control Information science American digital libraries South Asia