AT an event hosted by Bernie Simpson (Simpson Thomas & Associates) (see photo) and Rosy Manhas (Cascade Insurance) on Sunday, May 18, 2014 – Panjab Digital Library (PDL) Canada publicly announced its fundraising campaign.
The event was attended by various community leaders, including South Asians from diverse cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. PDL is dedicated to safeguarding and digitizing Panjabi heritage on behalf of 120 million Punjabis worldwide, with a large population in the Lower Mainland.
“As president of PDL Canada, I am extremely proud we have announced this goal,” said Baljinder Narang. “This campaign is a signal to our community and the world about the importance of preserving Panjab’s artifacts. We are asking the local South Asian community for their financial support.”
Since 2003, PDL has played a large part in preserving rare manuscripts and priceless pieces of Punjab’s history that were being destroyed. Now, just over 11 years later, PDL is continuing with this by locating, digitizing, preserving, collecting and making accessible Punjab’s historical archives.
“There is no better institution to capture the Panjabi way of life and view of the world than the Panjab Digital Library,” said Mo Dhaliwal. “Truly, we have as much to teach the modern world as we have to learn from the modernization of our historical record.”
With more than 9 million pages digitized, PDL has become a cultural institution with the largest free online resource of Punjab’s heritage. The campaign will support the work of PDL by making digitized documents much easier to be found online via the Panjab Digital Library and requires private funding.
“The work done by PDL is of enormous benefit to students, teachers, scholars, and lifelong learners, and I am gratified to see that it continues to grow. Being a part of this historic project is a tremendous way to make some Punjab’s most significant treasures available alongside those of other great museums, libraries, and archives around the world,” said Narang.
To donate to the Panjab Digital Library 2014 Fundraising Campaign, visit:
www.panjabdigilib.org.
