Mission

The National Library of Mongolia digital preservation project focuses on digitally preserving NLM’s Tibetan collection of over 40,000 manuscripts and woodblock prints. This initiative, launched in 2018, ensures the protection of these vulnerable texts through digital cataloging, scanning, and archiving, safeguarding them from deterioration or loss. ALL provides technical support, training, and funding to support the project, while also facilitating secure storage and open accessibility through its digital library and collaboration with the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). By strengthening NLM’s capacity for long-term digital preservation, this effort secures Mongolia’s cultural heritage for future generations, making it accessible both locally and globally.

History

The National Library of Mongolia (NLM), established in 1921, serves as a vital institution for preserving Mongolia’s cultural and intellectual heritage. The NLM’s Tibetan collection holds over 40,000 volumes of manuscripts and woodblock prints, making it a crucial repository for the study of Mongolian Buddhism as well as the cultural and philosophical heritage of Mongolia. From the thirteenth century on, this body of work was safeguarded in private libraries, homes, and small institutions, forming a stable cultural foundation throughout the country before being consolidated within the NLM. Today, the NLM stands as a critical repository for this material. In 2018, ALL and the NLM initiated a framework for partnership, making the preservation and global access to this cultural heritage possible.