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US Library of Congress launches
Sikh Collection Initiative
WSN Network
WASHINGTON:
In a major recognition of the significant place Sikh Americans
have occupied among the immigrant communities in the United States,
the Library of Congress has launched the “Sikh Collection
Initiative.” The initiative launched last week with a two-day
international conference on Sikhism, is aimed at bringing a wide
range of literature and other research materials at one place in the
prestigious Library of the Congress. With over 142 million items in
more than 470 languages, the library is a central repository for all
types of publications. Navtej Sarna, the Indian Ambassador to Israel
and author of the book “The Exile” on Duleep Singh, the last
Maharaja of Punjab, was one of the key participants of the two-day
international conference on Sikhism on the occasion of the launch of
the “Sikh Collection Initiative” by the library in association with
the Kaur Foundation.
Founded in 2002,
the foundation’s mission is to facilitate the creation of inclusive
environments and empower coming generations of Sikh Americans.
Noting that the Sikh Community has become another layer in the
fabric of
America’s
multi-ethnic identity, James H Billington, the Librarian of
Congress, said the initiative launched in collaboration with the
Kaur Foundation – a leading Sikh American institution – is aimed to
promote the preservation of the heritage of the Sikhs. To begin
with, the foundation has put in a large collection of books, many of
which are now out of print. Among the prominent new arrivals at the
Library of Congress as part of the initiative include the entire
collection of Bhai Veer Singh and Bhai Randhir Singh’s writings in
Gurumukhi.
24
June 2009
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