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Introduction

Conceived of and founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) is one of the most important institutions in the world dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Tibetan culture. The foundation stone for the Library's Tibetan style building was laid on 11th June 1970, in the hill station of Dharamsala, north India.

Located within the compound of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, the Library serves as a repository for Tibetan artefacts and manuscripts and a centre for language and cultural education. Its holdings include more than 80,000 manuscripts, books and documents, hundreds of thangkas, statues and other artefacts, 6,000 photographs, and other materials.

As a centre for the study of Tibetan culture, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives is firmly dedicated to a threefold vision of preservation, protection and promotion. The Library looks forward into the next century, confident of its role to preserve, and educate others about, a culture threatened with destruction. More than 25 years after its founding, the need for such an institution as the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives has continued to grow.

The primary objective of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives is to provide a comprehensive cultural resource centre and to promote an environment fostering research and an exchange of knowledge between scholars and students. This is of the utmost importance in a contemporary world shaped by political and spiritual confusion. In trying to fulfil its objectives the Library's priorities include:

• Acquiring and conserving Tibetan books and manuscripts, artefacts and works of art;
• Providing access to books, manuscripts and reference works (in Tibetan and foreign languages) in study areas within the Library;
• Compiling bibliographies and documen- tation of library holdings and related literature available worldwide;
• Providing copies and prints of library holdings, and acting as a reference centre for such source materials ;
• Publishing books and manuscripts under the Library imprint;
• Supporting research and study of the Tibetan language, classical and modern, and the traditional arts and crafts.

The Tibetan Library has been in operation since 1st November 1971. It has opened its doors to numerous scholars from many countries. It has launched educational programmes in language, philosophy, culture and the traditional arts. It has encouraged computer projects, and other initiatives aiming to preserve Tibetan thought and culture. The Library sponsors international seminars. It engages in book exchange programmes with other libraries and distributes its own publications, in Tibetan and English, throughout the world. Library holdings increase every year and class enrollments in the Centre for Tibetan Studies continue to climb. The Library is home to one of only two Tibetan Oral History projects in the world. Its dynamic thangka painting and woodcarving programmes are indica-tive of the fact that cultural preservation includes the arts as well as letters. LTWA works in close collaboration with the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies (deemed a university) in Sarnath and the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration. With each year of operation increasing numbers of visitors, researchers and students are drawn to this institution which is able to provide them with an educational and cultural experience available nowhere else in the world.

Administration

LTWA autonomous body under direct supervision of H.H. the Dalai Lama registered with the Government of India under the Registration of Societies Act of 1860 recognised by Himachal Pradesh University as a Centre for Research in 1991 accorded status of National Library, Archives and Museum by Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in 1996

The responsibilities of the Administrative Department include relations with staff and support personnel; fiscal, accounting and budgetary operations; security; building maintenance and new construction; computer and information services; printing and reproduction services.

LTWA has a governing body of nine members, three of whom represent the Government of India. The remaining six are appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This board directs policy development, oversees all major projects and departments, and provides advice and guidance for future Library initiatives. The Library's eight departments operate under the direction of the governing body.

The Library receives part of its funding from the Department of Culture and Ministry of Human Resources of the Government of India. The Library generates some of its own funding through the sale of books and publications, accommodation rental and class fees, and this is used to meet the major part of its budgetary needs. Public and private foundations and other philanthropic organisations such as the Ford Foundation, OXFAM India, the Smithsonian Institution, C.A.R.E., Swedish Development Co-operative, J.D.R. 3rd Fund and Uli Franz Trust, Netherlands Embassy, have provided substantial funding for specific projects in the past.

The Libraries

The Tibetan Manuscript Collection and the Foreign Language Reference Library contain more than 80,000 items, ranging from handwritten manuscripts and centuries old documents to contemporary books and periodicals. Parts of the collection are open to the public, while access to others is restricted to accredited scholars and researchers. Study areas are provided in the respective wings housing each collection. Research guidance is available from many resident scholars at the Library. General information about the libraries is available at the reception desk on the ground floor.

The Tibetan Manuscript Collection maintains holdings of more than 70,000 manuscripts, xylographs, documents, illuminated manuscripts and microfilm records. This is the most important collection of such materials in the world. Of special value are several handwritten editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur, the Tibetan Buddhist Canon; sixteen handwritten volumes of sundry collected works from Phudrag Monastery and sixteen additional volumes commissioned by Tsagta, Chief of Eastern Kongpo in the 15th century. The major works of Tibet's four Buddhist traditions, the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug, as well as the indigenous Bön tradition, constitute the main body of the collection.

The Library maintains manuscript exchange projects with many institutions around the world. These include the Gorky Scientific Library in Leningrad; the Ulan Bator State Library in Mongolia; the Sikkim Research Institute in Gangtok; the National Library of the Royal Government of Bhutan; Toyo-Bunko in Japan, and the Beijing National Library. In special cases these institutions provide and exchange photocopies of rare and important works which are otherwise unavailable for general circulation or loan.

The Tibetan Manuscript Collection acquires new materials from among those donated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as from direct acquisitions in Tibet. Several hundred volumes are added each year, ranging from rare and original manuscripts to contemporary reprints in book form. The Tibetan Manuscript Collection is in the process of completing a general catalogue of all materials in the collection. This task is made more difficult by the nature of the holdings and the tendency for works to have elaborate titles containing similar epithets and for authors to be known by a variety of names. The entire collection is also being catalogued in a computer database in the Tibetan language, which will be available to the public. This makes it the only collection of its kind catalogued by computer in Tibetan.

The Foreign Language Reference Library has a collection of more than 10,000 volumes predominantly dealing with language, philosophy, arts and culture, medicine, geography, travel, history and politics of Tibet and the Himalayan region. These materials are primarily in English, but include some in major European and Indian languages, as well as Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and Mongolian. More than 120 journals and periodicals of related interest are currently received and displayed. There is a modest collection of rare and out-of-print books, files of newspaper clippings covering the past 25 years of the Tibetan diaspora, bound collections of periodicals, and files of pamphlets, brochures and other materials concerning the Tibetan community dating back to 1959. Holdings can be accessed through an online cataloguing system. Books are kept in a separate stack room, from where librarians retrieve them on request. The reading room is divided between an area of large open tables and a set of individual study booths.

The continuing expansion of the Foreign Language collection is matched by its growing number of patrons. New acquisitions are received each year from various sources in addition to outright purchases. Publication exchange programmes provide volumes from other publishers and libraries in exchange for new books brought out by the LTWA's Publication Department. Copies of doctoral dissertations are regularly received from University Microfilm International. Books are also donated each year by visiting scholars and by other institutions not formally part of the publication exchange programme.

On average, 2,000 people enroll as members of the Library each year for a small fee. They are entitled to use the resources within the reference room. Only accredited research scholars are allowed to borrow materials. Limited photocopying can be done by request on the Library premises.

The Archives

The Document and Photographic Archives have seen rapid growth in recent years. Documents include government edicts and court proclamations, marriage and land contracts and others, which reveal otherwise unrecorded aspects of Tibetan life. Many scholars consult these, and the Photographic Archives' collection of negatives and slides, which includes black and white and colour photographs taken by American travellers Tolstoy and Dolan in the 1940s. Many photographs are displayed in the Library itself.

An important new project for the LTWA is the launch of the Central Archives of the Works of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The purpose of this Archive, as its name implies, is to gather together all materials concerning His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings, writings and speeches. Contri-butions have been received from all over the world.

The Library is also host to a newly initiated Architectural Archive which consists of a catalogued collection of photographs of buildings and architectural features in Tibet and the Himalayan region. Many of the buildings recorded in this Archive no longer exist. Consequently, the collection provides an invaluable glimpse of Tibet's erstwhile magnificent architectural heritage. A Tibetan Architectural Club has been established in this connection to encourage local Tibetan school students with an interest in architecture to develop an appreciation of Tibetan building traditions.

The Museum

The Museum, located on the first floor of the Library, originated as a repository of art and artefacts offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was laid out in consultation with the National Museum of India and opened to the public in 1974.

The Museum has expanded steadily since those early days and now exhibits one of the most important collections of Tibetan art in the world. Major exhibits include a three-dimensional carved wooden mandala of Avalokiteshvara and a thread-cross mandala of Arya Tara, both commissioned by the LTWA; a bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara commissioned by the 13th Dalai Lama, said to stand as tall as he did; and a contemporary life-size statue of Je Tsongkhapa.

The Museum commissions works by local artists, loans objects to international institutions for exhibition, and trains library employees in preservation techniques.

Centre for Tibetan Studies

The Centre for Tibetan Studies is administered by the Education Department and is recognised by the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla. It offers courses for the growing number of people interested in Tibetan language, philosophy and art. Classes were first taught in 1971 and have grown steadily in scope and attendance ever since. The Centre's work is an important aspect of the Library's effort to both sustain and extend appreciation and understanding of Tibetan culture.

Classes in Tibetan language and philosophy meet six days a week. Two different courses run concurrently in each of the programmes. Language classes run three terms of three months each, while the duration of the philosophy courses depends on the texts that are being studied. The academic year is 10 months long, from March to December each year. A class schedule is published annually by the Education Department. Full term intensive courses in Tibetan language and literary appreciation are conducted for members of the Central Tibetan Administration and allied institutions every year.

Philosophy classes are taught by Geshes selected by the LTWA Board for their experience and good reputation. Their explanations are usually given in Tibetan and are translated into English by experienced interpreters. Classic Tibetan and Indian Buddhist texts are selected as the focus of study to provide a first-hand knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, meditation, psychology and ethics. The student body typically includes Tibetan and foreign students and postgraduate scholars. Classes include meditation practice, lectures and discussion of texts and scriptures. These courses are popular, an average of 100 students attending each.

Language classes are taught by teachers fluent in both Tibetan and English. They cover spoken and written Tibetan, aspects of grammar and idiomatic speech, and are intended to equip students to study Tibetan culture and religion. Colloquial and classical Tibetan are dealt with in advanced classes. Many of the texts used in classes have been published by the LTWA. Class sizes average 30 students. Students from more than 20 countries have registered for these courses.

The Education Department also operates schools of thangka painting and traditional woodcarving. Established in 1977 and 1982 respectively, both schools conduct intensive five-year apprenticeship programmes. Almost 50 artists, who continue the traditional Tibetan arts in India and elsewhere, have trained in this school. These courses are taught by renowned master artists.

Thangka painting is one of the most important aspects of traditional Tibetan culture. It is regarded as a reflection of the life and imagination of the Tibetan mind. The education of a thangka painter goes far beyond mere painting techniques. Iconography, Tibetan philosophy, and art history are all aspects of the training.

Traditional Tibetan woodcarving has been given a new lease of life by the master artists of the school. Students construct altars, shrines, three-dimensional mandalas, and other objects for use in temples and monasteries.

Research and Translation Department

This department provides vital services to the Publication and Education Departments of the Library. It supports scholarly research in all fields of Tibetan thought.

The translation department is staffed by Tibetan scholars who are assisted in their work by native English speakers. The team translates texts for the Publication Department and compiles translations of the daily Buddhist philosophy classes. LTWA translators also provide services for other branches of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in Dharamsala.

Recognising the lack of skilled translators fluent in both Tibetan and English, LTWA held a seminar at the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarnath, Varanasi in 1991, to assess the Tibetan community's future translation needs. As a result of this seminar, training courses have subsequently been held.

The research section assists the growing number of scholars who visit the LTWA and corresponds with other institutions around the world. The Department's highly qualified staff includes scholars who have graduated in traditional Tibetan monasteries and others who have trained in contemporary universities.

There are regular visitors from major Indian universities as well as from Tibetan monasteries. The Department welcomes an average of 50-60 foreign scholars per year. Staff have access to microfilm and microfiche readers, and computer facilities for word processing and cataloguing in the Tibetan language.

Publications Department

The Publications Department publishes and distributes a wide range of publications concerning Tibetan studies worldwide. The department produces numerous publications annually in both Tibetan and English, in close co-operation with the Translation and Research Departments.

Two periodicals, Tibet Journal and Tibetan Medicine, are regarded with high esteem in Tibetan academic circles throughout the world. The Tibet Journal, a scholarly quarterly in English, first appeared in 1975. It features articles on Tibetan history, art, philosophy, literature and language, and includes book reviews. Some special editions have been dedicated to single topics such as the Tibetan Government and court systems, the Muslim community and the visual arts. The journal also publishes articles related to Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and the Trans-himalayan regions which have geographical and cultural affinities to Tibet.

Tibetan Medicine, an annual publication, first appeared in 1980. It features articles on specific aspects of Tibetan medicine, extensive interviews with Tibetan doctors and medical practitioners, and information on medical history and medicinal plants. It is one of the few periodicals in the world solely dedicated to research, study and the dissemination of traditional Tibetan medicine.

The English section predominantly publishes texts concerned with Buddhist philosophy, but has also brought out books relating to Tibetan archeology, history, politics, medicine, language, folk culture and proverbs. Native English speakers functioning as editors work in a team with Tibetan translators. Titles published to date range from the classic Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Shantideva, to the current Cultivating a Daily Meditation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The publications are distributed worldwide by the Delhi-based Paljor Publications, a branch of the Charitable Trust of H.H. The Dalai Lama.

The Tibetan section publishes an average of six books a year, and has brought out more than 142 titles since 1972. While the sale of publications provides operating funds for the Library in general, their wide distribution serves to raise global awareness of Tibetan culture.

Oral History Department

The Oral History Project was begun in 1976. Since then taped interviews with elders, Lamas and other religious figures, craftspeople, doctors and astrologers, story-tellers, traders and pilgrims have been recorded. Oral traditions are very susceptible to permanent loss should their transmission be interrupted. Some of the oral records archived are unique, traditionally passed only from one person to another. Nevertheless, they have been recorded to preserve them for the future.

This project is unique in documenting important aspects of folk culture in India and Tibet in the Tibetan language. The Department has transcribed some of its recordings, but as potential interviewees grow older and more fragile, priority has been given to recording their reminiscences. Most recordings are conducted by retired government employees and volunteers within the Tibetan refugee community.

The Oral History Archives contain hundreds of hours of teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; accounts of the journey from Tibet to India; Tibetan proverbs and stories; explanations of Tibetan healing methods; and descriptions of traditional dress, costumes and ornaments, songs and dances. The Department has embarked on developing a computerised catalogue of its recordings, as well as the production of printed transcripts and English translations of selected interviews.

Contact for studies of Tibetan Buddhism class in LTWA at this website: www.tibetanlibrary.org