The dedicated band of conservationists of the Panjab Digital Library digitized 44164 pages, as against their own target of 35000 pages. The enthusiastic team is setting new benchmarks for bigger challenges ahead.

In an extended daily schedule of 12 hours, five motivated teams of the Punjab Digital Library zealously worked to digitize 35000 pages to commemorate 35 years of the loss of the Sikh Reference Library in June 1984.

Despite all odds of power outages, serious sudden illness of the Project Manager, their zeal knowing no bounds, everyone chased one project after another at five different locations to digitize books, correspondence, maps, 19th-century manuscripts, early 20th century books, Khalsa Darbar Records, Kalsia Darbar Records and more.

Since 2003, the Pan­jab Dig­i­tal Li­brary has so far dig­i­tized over 20 mil­lion pages, thus pre­serv­ing and pro­tect­ing in­valu­able her­itage and legacy.

“The daybreak brought not so encouraging news of our project manager getting extremely sick, and that he had to be hospitalized the previous night. Five team-leads that were supposed to work under him still decided to go ahead with the plan. Yet with the grace of Guru Sahib, we have accomplished our target,” said Davinder Pal Singh, founder-director of Panjab Digital Library.

“It was an overwhelming experience to see the teams continue digitizing even after they were informed that the target was met. Finally, when the work was stopped at 8 pm, the final tally stood at 44,164. Target was not only met, but exceeded by quite a margin.”

Panjab Digital Library to digitize 35,000 pages today

Drenched in sweat due to the unkind weather and the power outages, the team worked with some divine motivational force. “Something from within motivated us to push further and test our limits. It was merely a dry run, yet an important one, as it told us if we would be able to hold true the promise made to our own self. For it was a run up to a big plan and a bigger challenge,” said Davinder Pal Singh.

The loss of the past cannot be retrieved but what we have can be saved and what is going to come will remain with the hope that preserving heritage will be a routine, not a privilege or a knee-jerk reaction nor even a mission to be taken up after a substantial loss. With Panjab Digital Library at hand, this will not be difficult to achieve.