A Request For Volunteers to Help With Cataloging

A fully searchable database is of utmost importance to a research library's purpose. It is essential to make our resources easily available for researchers. We have recently acquired over 3000 extremely rare academic journals on various topics within Indian Philosophy and Religion. The titles of the articles describe fascinating and obscure topics such as the first discussions on developing Roman script for Indian languages, for example.

Although BRC has only one scanner in our facility, our Head Librarian, Acyuta Das has innovated a second work station that utilizes a smart phone for potential volunteers to help with creating electronic image files. After the table of contents are scanned in these journals, OCR (optical corrector recognition) software will identify the text and convert it in such a way that we can make it part fo a searchable database.

In order to make any significant progress in our indexing, we need your help. Please contact Acyuta Prabhu, BRC Head Librarian at acyuta@brcindia.com. He will be happy to engage you in this service.

BRC Establishes Open Source Integrated Library System (Koha)

BRC staff is in the process of implementing some new technological guidance we've acquired with the great help of Koha expert, Indranil Das Gupta. After many trials and errors, we have finally worked out the optimal system for processing the digitization workflow for our rare book and manuscript project. We are using Koha ILS as both a catalog as well as their digital repository.

Koha is generally considered to be the first open source library automation system, and originated in 1999. ILS stands for open source integrated library systems. BRC is exploring cutting edge ways to implement Koha, innovating and testing new applications of this system.

An Overview of BRC's Process of Adding Files to the Digital Catalog

We wanted to provide a more detailed update about the processes involved from scanning texts to uploading to our digital catalog for those among you who are interested in tech-related details:

This illustration describes the steps in the process that are involved from generating the initial image from a scan or photo until we upload the file for reading and accessing from our digital database.


- compiled by BRC's Tech consultant, Indranil Das Gupta

Thanking Our Recent Donors, Late 2016

We humbly thank those who have so generously donated to BRC most recently: *

• Ambarish Das, USA, $25,000.00 
• Gopal Bhatta Das, USA, $2,500.00
• Hridayananda das Goswami, $500.00
• Cittahari das, Australia, $2,000.00 (AUD)
• Yogesvara das, USA, $500.00 (AUD)
• Janananda Goswami, $2,750.00 (AUD)
• Urmila Devi Dasi, USA, $1000.00
• Vasudev and Bhagavati, Fiji, $1100.00
• Navin Krsna das, USA, $1,000.00
• Balaramdesh Yatra, $2,500.00
• Srivallabha das, Damodardesh, $1,000.00
• Bhakti Charu Swami, $10,000.00 INR per month
• BBT International, $2500.00
• Madhusevita Das, Scotland, £6000.00

We strive to stay up to date on your latest contact information. If you have not heard from us for a while, we may not have your latest contact information. It is important for us to remember you and help you stay up to date and connected to our latest service activities. Please email Mahalakshmi Dasi, BRC Membership Coordinator. 



* Although we strive to keep good records and communications, occasionally we inadvertently leave someone off this list. Please notify us if we left you off and kindly accept our apology. 

The M.K. Goswami Family Continues Their Generosity

BRC continues to be extremely grateful to Sri M.K. Goswami and his wife, Srimati Priti Rekha Goswami of Bangalore for their donations of rare Vaisnava texts. In February of this year, they entrusted over 40 rare manuscripts to BRC. Their generosity continued this past May when they donated a rare and sought-afterl set of Srimad Bhagavatam, called the “Murshidabad Edition,” a publication that was sponsored by the then King of Tripura.

As previously mentioned, the Goswami family has the distinction of belonging to the 17th generation of Sri Advaitacharya's direct lineage. May their selflessness inspire other families to share their endangered sacred texts with BRC so that we can help make them available to future generations.