Sikh - Digital Library

Digital Library

Launched in 2003 under Nanakshahi Trust, the Panjab Digital Library was a result of the early phase of the digital revolution in Punjab. While most saw the Nanakshahi as a small digitisation organisation, or as an assemblage of some unknown youth working towards capturing some manuscripts on their digital cameras, its founders saw it as a cornerstone of a fundamentally new approach to preserving Punjab’s heritage for future generations. In the shadow of search engines, a Semantic Web approach thought of in the early 2003 reached maturity in 2006. This was when the organisation planned to expand its operations from a mere three employee organisation to one of the leading NGO’s working in the field of digital preservation all over India.

Digitised collections include manuscripts held by the Punjab Languages Department, items from the Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh, Chief Khalsa Diwan, SGPC, DSGMC and manuscripts in the Jawahr Lal Nehru Library of Kurukshetra University. It also include hundreds of personal collections. With over 5 million pages digitised it is the biggest repository of digital data on Punjab.