Yale Librarians visit Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

On 5 and 6 November, Yale librarians and 10 other participants representing major research and private libraries from around India will gather for a workshop in Nehru Memorial Museum and Library at New Delhi.

That the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) is an institutional repository of 2.5 lakh books and over 1,000 collections of personal documents of the leaders of the independence movement in India is to understate the unique character of the archival section of the NMML. After the National Archives in Delhi, the NMML has the largest collection of personal correspondence, government documents and an extensive vernacular newspaper collection on microfilm. The NMML has emerged as a necessary rite of passage for scores of researchers and students of modern history. While it has an in-house publishing program, a museum, and a library, a Museum on Nehru’s life and works, and a research centre on modern Indian history and contemporary studies, it is arguably the archival section which is at the heart of the NMML and its legendary project.

In the conviction that students and scholars could benefit from better access to the archives, NMML is undertaking new initiatives such as plans to digitize the archives, an initiative for which Yale University is providing support. Dr Mahesh Rangarajan, Director of NMML has announced, “We are considering a tie-up with Yale University in view of the successful digitization of their archives. In the long run, we hope to develop in-house capability for the digitization of the archives.” In this spirit, on 5 and 6 November, Yale librarians and 14 other participants representing major research and private libraries from around India will gather for a workshop in NMML titled “Best Practices in Library and Archives Management”. Participants from Yale University include: Susan Gibbons, University Librarian, who will deliver a public lecture on challenges of library in the 21st Century; Sarah Calhoun, Librarian for South Asian Studies, who will speak on best practices for collection development; Christine McCarthy, Chief Conservator, who will talk about best practices for conserving paper documents and photographs; and finally Tara Kennedy, Field Services Librarian, who will discourse on best practices for environmental control in a library. Mr. Rangarajan  said that “The workshop will, we hope, focus our energies on the challenges of a quality collection in the new digital age, and also help acquaint the distinguished participants from 8 other institutions in the national capital region and at least 6 other places in India to exchange views and experiences”. While in India, the Yale team will have time to visit NMML archives, library and the 45 acre garden dating to the Baker Lutyens era.