READIT-2007 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

Digital Preservation and Online Access in
“Meghnad Saha Archive”
Dipa Dasgupta *
Abstract
The goal of the Meghnad Saha Archive is to preserve the archival materials, enhance
accessibility to the materials and increase the public awareness of the scientific achievement, political
activities, moral and humane values of Prof. Meghnad Saha. A trusted repository requires new
methods, policies, standards and technologies for its preservation purpose. This paper will explain the
purpose of digitization, source selection criteria and general standard for creating digital image. It
will also provide guideline for digitization of image, software and hardware recommendation,
advantages and disadvantages of digital preservation
1. INTRODUCTION
The goal of the Meghnad Saha Archive is to preserve the archival materials,
enhance accessibility to the materials and increase the public awareness of the
scientific achievement, political and scientific organizing activities, moral and
humane values of Meghnad Saha. Our special collection and holdings of archive have
been away from public view for a long time. Now anyone with access to the internet
can log on to our website and view number of historical documents and images
related to Meghnad Saha. This democratization of archival collection has been
possible through the digital revolution. Online resources serve local, national and
international needs. We want to increase utility of our collection by allowing a wider
audience to view digital surrogates of primary materials.
2. PURPOSE
Digitization is essential aids in material preservation. Creation of digital
surrogates of valuable archival materials can serve to enhance preservation efforts by
reducing the handling of original materials. This can be specialy beneficial for
decreasing wear and tear to fragile or rare valuable items. Decrease access to originals
also helps to protect items from potential theft or mutilation. Digital surrogates can
serve as backups in case the originals are lost in a disaster or theft. So by producing a
high quality digital reproduction of an item, archivists can keep the original safely
locked away, while the researcher views the digital version either in the archives or
from a remote location. Copies can be easily and cheaply made from a digital file,
leaving the original undisturbed.
3. SOURCE SELECTION, FINDING AIDS AND STANDARDS
The Meghnad Saha Archive has implemented a plan to digitize its holdings
starting with the vast correspondence with the most influential physicists and
intellectuals of the 20 th century. At the time of this article we have digitized almost
2000 letters. Once the project is completed, we will begin to digitize M.N. Saha’s
scientific and non-scientific articles, lectures, statements, forwards and curiosity
items, reprints, newspaper clipping, posters, photographs etc.
Prof. Meghnad Saha visionised that his Institute of Nuclear Physics would
one day become one of the best scientific institutes of the world. His dream has been
realized for at present. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics has acquired international
* P&D Unit, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, dipa.dasgupta@saha.ac.in
100