TBRC and its Model for Linking Text Images with a Bio-Bibliographical Finding Database

TBRC's origins go back at least 30 years, to the activities of the Library of Congress in India. There E. Gene Smith, in his capacity as Field Director for the Library of Congress, was able to secure for publication several thousand Tibetan texts that had been trickling into India along with the Tibetan refugee diaspora. This publication work was accomplished under the auspices of the U.S.–India tied aid program known as Public Law 480, or PL-480, whereby the proceeds from the sale of American grain to India was re-invested in Indian cultural projects. As one such investment, the Tibetan Text Publication Project of the PL480, was able to recover over 5,000 volumes of Tibetan literature using a modern (for the day) offset process. These volumes — some of which were one-of-a-kind manuscripts, while others were limited-edition block prints with few extant copies — were provided to universities and in many cases formed the material basis for the academic study of Tibetan literature and culture in the West.