Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Paucity of expertise in archiving ”

Chennai: There is a paucity of expertise in archiving world over and, particularly in India, Chris Gibson, Director, British Council, South India, said at a meeting here recently.

Mr. Gibson, who inaugurated a workshop on ‘Setting up an archive’, said such programmes were crucial to preserve culture and heritage for future generations. The workshop was sponsored by the Roja Muthiah Research Library and the Association of British Scholars. Archiving of paper-based material, digital information, photographs and sound records were topics discussed at the meeting.

Historian S. Muthiah said that the Madras Records Office, set up in 1805, is the oldest library in the country, predating even the British Records Office by 33 years. The public accessibility of libraries must be improved, he added.

P.M. Belliappa, president of the Association of British Scholars, Chennai, said that archives served as the memory of a society and were useful in validating history. He regretted that the habit of civil servants of the British period putting down a record of their personal views on various subjects had disappeared after India’s independence. Delegates from various parts of the country and from Nepal participated in the workshop.

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