Kannada Publications in the National Bibliography of Indian Literature

Tabbed

Description & Rationale

This project will continue work begun more than thirty years ago to create preservation copies of all publications included in the National Bibliography of Indian Literature (NBIL). To date, 1,288 of the publications in the Kannada section of the NBIL have been preserved (or partially preserved in the case of multi-volume works) under the Microfilming of Indian Publications Project.

Three hundred and twenty Kannada publications in the NBIL are proposed for digitization this year. This is approximately one quarter of the NBIL Kannada titles not yet preserved. Subsequent proposals will be submitted to SAMP to complete preservation of the remaining Kannada publications. Consistent with established practices for NBIL preservation copies of microfilm and digitized copies of those microfilms, the resources are proposed for hosting at the Center for Research Libraries.

All of the digital page images created under the project will be OCRed via Google Cloud Vision by the University of Chicago at no cost to the project. In addition to depositing the digital objects with CRL, the Kannada Sahitya Parishattu will be provided with copies of the new resources.

Reasons for consideration:

The Microfilming of Indian Publications Project (MIPP) is preserving and making accessible all 55,992 books listed in The National Bibliography of Indian Literature: 1901-1953 together with the pre-1954 titles in the NBIL supplement. These are books in the twenty-two major languages of South Asia selected by a group of Indian scholars for their central importance to humanistic understanding of India. The Kannada section of NBIL lists 2,288 titles. To date slightly more than half of those titles have been preserved through microfilming. The titles proposed for digitization under this project are rarely held by any North American library.

Author(s):

The Kannada publications included in NBIL were authored by some of the most important scholars and literary figures associated with the language for more than a millenium. Selection of titles for inclusion in the NBIL was undertaken in the 1960s by Prof.

Publisher(s):

The several publishers of books proposed for this project are included in the online NBIL database described under the Links section below.

Source Format:

Paper

Target Format:

Digital

Program:

SAMP

Resource Types:

Monographs

Countries of Origin:

India

Proposal Contributors:

The proposal is submitted by James Nye, retired Bibliographer for Southern Asia, University of Chicago, in collaboration with Mr. Mahesh Joshi, President of the Kannada Sahitya Parishattu in Bangaluru, India. The Roja Muthiah Research Library (RMRL) will conduct the digitization following standards of the Endangered Archives Programme.

Posted:

Mar 6, 2023 8:19am

Updated:

Aug 11, 2023 5:34pm

Source Details

Major Languages:

Kannada

Source and Holdings:


Location	Format	Holdings/Range	Notes
Kannada Sahitya Parishattu, Bangaluru, India	Paper	The institution, founded in 1915, has one of the most extensive collections of Kannada holdings in the world.	While well maintained, some volumes are embrittled. The Parishattu will determine which volumes may be digitized.

Source and Holdings Notes:

Only the holdings of the Kannada Sahitya Parishattu Library will be included for this phase of the larger project on Kannada publications.

Physical Details:

As with other books preserved under the Microfilming of Indian Publications (MIPP) project, some are in brittle condition. Care will be taken to avoid damage to the books during digitization. Where pages are fractured or missing, the digital file will be appropriately noted as has been the case under protocols and procedures established for MIPP.

The project will involve digital imaging of an estimated 52,230 pages of text and relevant target pages.

Existing Reformatted Materials:

Few reformatted early Kannada books are available aside from those held by SAMP and those created under a grant from the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) in 2011. Nevertheless, HathiTrust, the Internet Archive, and OCLC will be consulted for each title prior to digitization to avoid duplication.

Intellectual Property Considerations:

The primary focus for this phase of the larger project on Kannada publications will be on titles published prior to 1924. But all of the NBIL publications are pre-1953 imprints and free of intellectual property restrictions under the Indian Copyright Act of 1957.

Activity

Status	Current	Description
Flagged	no	The proposal is flagged for further research.
Vetted	no	The proposal has been examined and vetted.
Ballotted	no	The proposal is currently on a committee ballot.
Approved	yes	The proposal has been selected for reformatting. Reformatting efforts are pending.
Reformatted	no	The proposal has been reformatted and access information is now posted.
Inactive / Declined	no	No longer under consideration for reformatting.