Google to Digitize 8,00,000 Books at Mysore University
MIL/Agencies, May 22, 2007.
Karnataka, Mysore: May 22, 2007 - Around 8,00,000 books and manuscripts from the Mysore University in Karnataka, India alone are likely to find place in the link by Google. Google will also provide expertise, software, and manpower for the digitization work. Howeer, Mysore University shall train some of its select Physics students to help in the digitization process.
The Mysore University library has around 100,000 manuscripts that are written both on paper as well as palm leaves. These would include India’s first political treatise, the ‘Arthashastra’ written in the 4th century BC by Kautilya.
J.Shashidhara Prasad, Vice Chancellor of Mysore University commented on the initiative and said that this is an effort to restore and preserve this rich cultural heritage for effective dissemination of knowledge.
“Many manuscripts on ayurveda, mathematics, medicine, science, astrology and economy including ‘Arthasastra’ and several paper manuscripts of the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore will be digitized first,” Prasad, said.
Prasad also said that the digitized versions of manuscripts would be patented depending on exclusivity, and would be printed, once the digitization work was over. Google will be digitising these manuscripts as well as 700,000 other books free-of-cost. The idea behind digitising for free is to get free links to these materials once the necessary patenting is complete.
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