Summary: During this trip I visited New Delhi and Chennai (Madras).  In New Delhi I spent time at the Library of Congress Field Office to discuss the serials acquisitions program and become more familiar with the automated and manual systems for serials control.  I toured the microfilming project and reviewed the ephemera collections that are being microfilmed. I was able to obtain a complete printout of the collections for ordering. We discussed the possibility of future microfilming projects, facilitated through Berkeley faculty (Prof. Vasudha Dalmia and Prof. Aditya Behl), and also the shipment of special collections to the U.S. (The Kazi archive from Kalimpong).  Much of my time in New Delhi was spent becoming familiar with the National Archives.  The specific purpose of  my work at the National Archive was to compile a list of Gadar Party material held there.  On my first trip to India I had become interested in Delnet, a consortia of over 60 libraries, that has developed an online union catalog and a number of online databases.  During this Jan. 1998 trip I negotiated an agreement with Delnet to become the first international member, giving Berkeley access to the online resources and also the possibility of document delivery for articles held in the Delnet consortium.  I established an exchange relationship with Bhai Vir Singh Sadan to obtain bibliographic indexes and other publications produced at the Sadan. During this trip I also made a short tour of Uttar Pradesh to become more familiar with that area of the country.  I made a visit to Chennai and and spent time in two major Tamil library collections. I depth familiarity with library collections in South Asia serves two purposes: one, to be able to offer guidance to Berkeley researchers needing access to special materials and two, to know what Tamil material is actually being archived in India and under what conditions so that I can make better collection development decisions about what needs to be archived at Berkeley.

New Delhi

Library of Congress Field Office
While staying in Delhi I visited the Library of Congress Field Office located in the American Center just off Connaught Place.  I met with Lygia Ballantyne, the Field Director and Alice Kniskern, the Deputy Field Director (pictured at left).  We discussed the upcoming project proposed by Berkeley professor Vasudha Dalmia to microfilm the unique holding of the Marwari Library in Chandni Chawk.  The project would begin with Saraswati, a journal on Hindi literature that began in 1905. The Marwari Library has a complete run of the journal as well as about 30 other important journals that document the period when Hindustani split into Hindi and Urdu and literatures reflecting communal identities began to evolve. We discussed the technical aspects of the project, the condition of the journals, as well as the possibility of purchasing the microfilms directly from LC New Delhi rather than ordering the Photoduplication in Washington, D.C. Direct purchase would mean a huge savings in the time it takes to actually receive the films. (When Professor Dalmia and I were in New Delhi in July 1998 we were able to initiate this project, actually moving material from the Marwari Library to the Field Office.)  We also discussed numerous processing and billing issues for the South Asia program and also the content of the Library of Congress web site for the Field Office in New Delhi.  All the cataloging for South Asian languages is done in the Field Office. I met with cataloging staff to discuss ongoing issues of transliteration. I reviewed the pamphlet collection being microfilmed by LC and Mrs. Ballantyne was able to provide me with the local control list they are using for this project.

National Archives of India
The University of California, Berkeley, has the largest collection of materials published by and about the Hindustan Gadar Party in the United States.  This collection is heavily used by scholars of Indian nationalism and of the South Asian Diaspora. Other significant collections of Gadar related material are held at National Archives of India, the Deshbhagat Yadgar in Jullandar, and the British Library in London.  While I was in New Delhi I spent a week at the National Archives examining their collection and compiling a handlist of materials.  Pictured above is Gadar di Gunj, No. 2 in Urdu.

Delnet
When I visited New Delhi in January 1996 in met Dr. H.K. Kaul, the director of Delnet, located at the India International Center.  Delnet is a consortium of over 60 libraries in north India that has put up an online union catalog and numerous specialized databases, including dissertations, books-in-print, and Urdu manuscripts.  On my 1998 visit I signed an agreement with Delnet making University of California, Berkeley the first international member.  As members we have access to the Delnet catalog and the specialized databases. Delnet will photocopy and mail copies of articles in their journal holding for UCB researchers.  During the visit I met with Delnet members and gave a talk to Delnet members on electronic resources for South Asia. (Pictured above Dr. Kaul and Suzanne McMahon signing the agreement at that meeting.)

Bhai Vir Singh Sadan

I visited the Bhai Vir Singh Sadan in New Delhi, meeting with the Director Dr. Mohinder Singh and the librarian, Mrs. Devinder Kaur.  Bhai Vir Singh Sadan promotes research on Panjabi culture and history.  At the meeting with Dr. Singh and Mrs. Kaur  I received the first three issues of Documentation on Panjab Studies, which is prepared by Mrs. Kaur and which indexes articles on Panjab studies from major newspapers and journals.   I established an agreement to receive future issues of the bibliography as well as other publications through exchange.  I was also able to get a list of the journals collected by the library, which helps me in making acquisitions decisions here in the U.S.  Bhai Vir Singh Sadan is a member of Delnet and so articles from their journal collection could potentially be furnished through document delivery.

Chennai

In Chennai I visited two major libraries with Tamil and Sanskrit language collections.  Connemara Public Library meeting with librarian Mr. P.S. Shankara; Adyar Library and Research Centre Theosophical Society Library meeting with Mrs. Radha Burnier, head librarian. Founded in 1886 by Henry Steel Olcott for research in Eastern civilization, philosophy, and religion.  The library has an impressive Sanskrit manuscript collection The Library publishes the Adyar Library series, General Series and Brahma Vidya. ; I was also fortunate to be in Chennai during the Tamil Book Fair and was able to meet with Tamil booksellers.

*Itinerary

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