[INDOLOGY] 20th anniversary of the Muktabodha digital library and KSTS series.

[Davidson, Ronald M.]

Congratulations, Harry, on your work!

I have used the electronic library and texts since 2005 and found the facility quite useful.

Ronald Davidson

________________________________
Ronald M. Davidson, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies
345 Donnarumma Hall
Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield CT 06824-5195, U.S.A.
203-254-4000 x 2489



From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Harry Spier via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
Reply-To: Harry Spier <vasishtha.spier at gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 10:57 AM
To: "indology at list.indology.info" <indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] 20th anniversary of the Muktabodha digital library and KSTS series.

Dear list members, Two weeks ago was the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Muktabodha digital library.   On Nov. 7, 2003 the online library was launched with the 75 volumes of the KSTS series that were then out of copyright.    At that time

Dear list members,

Two weeks ago was the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Muktabodha digital library.  On Nov. 7, 2003 the online library was launched with the 75 volumes of the KSTS series that were then out of copyright.

At that time no single library (at least in the USA) had a complete set of the KSTS series, not even the Library of Congress. I would take the bus from a small town about 75 miles from New York City and commute in to the city and photocopy the copies in the New York Public Library , usually 4 or 5 volumes each trip, a page at a time.  Some of these volumes were literally falling apart.  After each trip I'd scan each page into Muktabodha's computer.  The New York Public Library would find out for me, which libraries had the volumes they were missing and get them for me by inter-library loan.

One thing we discovered was that when the KSTS volumes were originally printed in Kashmir, some mistakes were made in the volume numbers and some volume numbers were never used. One volume was originally printed with the wrong volume number. The printers then overwrote this by hand with the correct volume number (only in some cases). So not only did no single library have all volumes, but even the library of congress had errors in its cataloguing of the series.  In case its still of use to anyone or of historical interest, I'm attaching the document I created at that time with the correct title and volume information for the KSTS series.

In the announcement of the launch of the Muktabodha digital library to the Indology list on Nov. 7, 2003 we wrote:  . . . Muktabodha plans subsequently to make available in the form of digital images thousands of texts, primarily from the Shaiva, Shakta, and Vedic traditions ...
Through grace and hard work we were able to accomplish that task.

Thank you,
Harry Spier