Striking a Balance Between Physical and Digital Resources

In various configurations—be they academic, archival, county, juvenile, monastic, national, personal, public, reference, or research, the library has been a fixture in human affairs for a long time. Digital — meaning, content or communication that is delivered through the internet, is 20 years old (but younger in parts). Basically, both approaches to organizing serve to structure information for access. However, digital is multiplying very fast and libraries all-round contemplate an existential crisis; the more hopeful librarians fret about physical and digital space. Yet, the crux of the matter is not about physical vs. digital: without doubt, the digital space of content or communication transmogrifies all walks of life and cannot be wished away; but, the physical space of libraries is time-tested, extremely valuable, and can surely offer more than currently meets the eye. Except for entirely virtual libraries, the symbiotic relationship between the physical and the digital is innately powerful: for superior outcomes, it must be recognized, nurtured, and leveraged; striking a balance between physical and digital resources can be accomplished. This paper examines the subject of delivering digital from macro, meso, and micro perspectives: it looks into complexity theory, digital strategy, and digitization

Valuing Historic Places: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches

Decisions about which older buildings, structures, and places should be conserved are fundamental to the practice of architectural conservation. Conservation professionals use the interrelated concepts of integrity, authenticity, and historical value to determine which historic places are worthy of importance. Traditionally, these concepts are predicated on preserving the object rather than conserving the meaning and values associated with the object. In other works, the goal is to benefit the object and not the people who value the object. This method, which has roots in antiquated nineteenth-century Western scientific traditions, deprecates the importance of people, processes, and meanings in how places are valued and conserved. Thus, conservation professionals produce “objective” meanings for other conservators, but not for everyday people. The net result is a failure to understand how local populations actually value their historic places. A recent movement in architectural conservation is to emphasize the role of contemporary social, cultural, and personal meanings in valuing historic places and the processes in which places develop these values overtime. This pluralistic perspective recognizes that different populations and cultures will have diverse ways of valuing historic places. Ultimately, for places such as Iraq, we have very little, if any, data to support conservation decisions that understand and respect local cultures and tradition. The danger is in applying traditional, Western, concepts that still dominate the conservation profession to non-Western contexts. There is a tremendous learning opportunity to engage in the cross-pollination of ideas from the perspectives of the Western and Eastern traditions and to learn how the citizens of Iraq value their cultural heritage. This information, once gathered, can then inform how to best approach the conservation of Iraqi urban centers

The Invention of Jainism: A Short History of Jaina Studies

The article provides a short summary of the institutional history of the new field of 'Jain Studies' in its historical and political context. It shows that the Sanskrit term 'Jaina' used as a self-designation (rather than as the designation of a doctrine or in the sense of 'pertaining to the Jina') is based on the vernacular precursor 'Jain' which became prevalent from the early modern period onwards - most likely as an internalised observer category. The words 'Jain' and 'Jainism' became widely used only in the context of 19th communal movements in colonian India. At the same time the Jain scriptures were published to back the identity claims of the Jaina law movement and modern 'Jainism' as a disembodied text-based set of idea-ologies or dogmas from which one can pick and chose was born

Cultural heritage and community engagement : exploring participatory approaches in Nepal

Community engagement in Cultural Heritage Management is not a popular practice in Nepal. However, recent political transformations that emphasize inclusive participation in development projects have started to allow local communities to enter into the heritage management process. Within this new relationship, there appear to be two key concerns for local communities: the distribution of revenue generated from heritage; and an ability to participate more fully in the design and management of such enterprises. Using semi-structured interviews with community stakeholders and heritage management authorities at two case study sites in Kathmandu – Boudhanath Stupa and Rani-Pokhari – this research aims to explore whether or not decentralized grassroots engagements with cultural heritage in Nepal provides a more effective and sustainable management strategy. This research is an evaluative study of contemporary policy on cultural heritage management in Kathmandu, and ultimately aims to contribute to heritage debates by offering a new perspective on community engagement specific to the post-disaster, post-development Nepalese context

The fossil tragulids of the Siwalik Formations of Southern Asia

Tragulids are common in the Early Miocene through Pliocene Siwalik faunas of the Indian Subcontinent where they are represented by as many as 17 species. Large collections of Siwalik fossils have recently been made by collaborative projects from Harvard University, the University of Arizona, the Geological Survey of Pakistan, and the Pakistan Museum of Natural History. The collections together comprise over 3700 specimens, including dental, cranial, and postcranial elements. Most of this fossil material is from northern and southwestern Pakistan from well-dated stratigraphic sections. The oldest definite tragulids are from the Early Miocene Vihowa Formation and are around 18.7 Ma, while the youngest are in the Pliocene Tatrot Formation and are 3.3 Ma. The fossil tragulids of the Siwaliks differ from the extant species in a number of ways. Importantly, they have a much wider range of body sizes, ranging from 1 to nearly 76 kg. Consequently the small species overlap with the smallest species of extant Tragulus, while the large species approach medium size bovids and cervids. Compared to other ruminants, Siwalik tragulids are also relatively abundant and species rich. Although the status of some described species is uncertain, preliminary analysis indicates there are many as yet undescribed species. Three genera are known and typically at least four species co-exist at any one time during the Miocene. The history of the south Asian tragulids can be correlated to documented environmental changes. The Siwalik deposits formed in a large fluvial system, with mostly forested or wooded low relief floodplains having abundant cover and fruit. Isotopic analyses of tooth enamel and soil carbonates indicate the vegetation was dominated by C3 plants until 9 Ma, after which there was a shift to a more seasonally dry monsoon climate, undoubtedly accounting for a Late Miocene change in the relative abundance of tragulids