Digitisation of presidential library high on Pranab's agenda

President Pranab Mukherjee is a man of many talents, at ease with a multitude of assignments of varying kinds. Besides managing the affairs of the state, the veteran politician is these days busy digitising historic records and books in the Rashtrapati Bhavan library, sorting his old 

sorting his old journals to put together  a book and restoring the British-era building to its pristine glory - and of course, reading.

Briefing the media at an informal interface in Rashtrapati Bhavan Tuesday, Mukherjee said the library was big enough for "anybody to spend five years reading".

"The library has records as old as government proceedings of 1891. Right now, the documents are dumped on the floor are being removed and put in order. After seeing the library in order, I will concentrate on reading.

"I want to read official records - the history of the transfer of power and how the financial business of the government was transacted. The first budget was passed in 1892," Mukherjee said adding digitisation of old books and reports was his priority.

An aide to the president said: "Out of the 24,000 documents and records, only 4,000 have been digitised during president A.P.J Abdul Kalam's tenure".

But the "hardware is outdated and restorers are trying to retrieve them in a user-friendly format".

The president is also keen on writing a couple of books.

"Not an autobiography or anything like it," he said.

The president said "he did not want to add anything new to Rashtrapati Bhavan but "just restore the building to its original glory".

"I will not change anything. I am traditionalist," he said.

Mukherjee said he has recently watched "Lincoln" that won its lead actor Daniel Day Lewis a Golden Globe award and has bought a copy of Ramachandra Guha's new essays.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Books/Chunk-HT-UI-BooksSectionPage-LiteraryBuzz/Digitisation-of-presidential-library-high-on-Pranab-s-agenda/Article1-990427.aspx

Rare historical books deck up Rashtrapathi bhavan library

NEW DELHI: A peep into history is at the centre of Rashtrapati Bhavan's initiative to refurbish its library with rare books dating back to 1800 on 'Tipoo' Sultan and another signed by Lord George Curzon in 1904 to find a place on its racks. This is part of efforts by Pranab Mukherjee, who after taking over as President in July this year, has been devoting time reviving places of historical importance within the sprawling 340-room Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The look of the library is being recreated to match the ambience in 1950 when it started functioning with tables in the room also being aligned the way it used to be. The books, which can be a real treat to any researcher, date between 1800 and 1947. They include a rare book of 1800 written by Alexander Beaston on "A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultan". The book is a narrative of the operations of the British Army under the command of Lieutenant-General George Harris, and of the siege of Srirangapatnam--near Mysore--and the defacto capital of 'Tippoo' Sultan. 

Read full story at :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/rare-historical-books-deck-up-rashtrapathi-bhavan-library/articleshow/17636245.cms

Library being restored at Rashtrapati Bhavan

by SMRITI KAK RAMACHANDRAN

The Hindu

Renovation work is in progress at Rashtrapati Bhavan Library , in New Delhi on October 18, 2012. Photo:Sushil Kumar Verma

Old but vivid photographs and fading memories as aids, the historic library in Rashtrapati Bhavan overlooking the Raisina Hill is being reinstated to resemble Edward Lutyens’ original design.

Extra shelves that were added over the years to accommodate books have been removed, an old table that Edward Lutyens designed, complete with a set of chairs inspired by his famous round spectacles occupies the pride of place, and artefacts that were buried in vaults are being retrieved and polished. Work is underway at a frenzied pace to restore the library to its magnificence.

The decision to revert to the original was an outcome of President Pranab Mukherjee’s wish to spend time in the library.

“Over the years the number of books in the library rose to 15,000. There were bookcases everywhere suffocating the room. By trying to restore the Library we are trying to bring out the unique features of the room, especially the floor and the pillars,” said Venu Rajamony, Press Secretary to the President.

In his book ‘Dome Over India - Rashtrapati Bhawan’ Aman Nath says as per the original design, the Library was equipped with 60 feet of book cases, two fire places, a marble and golden-yellow Jaisalmer stone floor with a ‘Swastika’ in the centre and pillars circling the room with bells of the Delhi Order.

To catalogue the books, some of which date back to the 18 Century and to ensure the library is equipped with political history and other genres that the President prefers, the Rashtrapati Bhavan staff is being assisted by a team from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

To be ready by November, the Library will only have select books apart from rare titles like the coffee table compendium of engravings in pictures of various art schools, published in 1807 and presented to Lord Curzon in 1904 by the Raja of Hill Tripura.

Artefacts that were placed along the two fireplaces have been traced and will be put on display. “All the Presidents have visited the Library during their respective tenures, they would ask for books, which I would then have delivered to them. But this is the first time that a President has expressed the wish to sit in the library,” said the Library incharge who has been in the position for nearly three decades.

“We are planning to include the Library in the tour of Rashtrapti Bhavan in the future. We are also seeking help from scholars to assist us in documenting the historical events that took place inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises. Pre Independence, there would have been a lot of discussions and meetings that took place here, and the President has instructed that we should document these. There are a lot of books about the Rashtrapati Bhavan, but we are yet to discover the ones that documents what happened in here,” Mr. Rajamony said.

Discussions are also underway with experts in museum conservation to give a facelift to the existing museums inside the Presidential retreats in Shimla and Hyderabad and in Rashtrapati Bhavan. “We are tying to explore the long term best arrangements for these museums,” Mr. Rajamony said.

READ MORE NEWS AT: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/library-being-restored-at-rashtrapati-bhavan/article4012252.ece

Mukherjee's priority - to return Rashtrapati Bhavan library to pristine glory

New Delhi: Books, books and more books - over 15,000 of them stacked in wooden and steel almirahs, gathering dust and grime due to disuse and neglect for over 20 years in one of the corners of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the magnificent presidential house. But all that is set to change. 

President Pranab Mukherjee, who assumed charge as the 13th constitutional head July 25, is known to be a bibliophile who reads till late in the night. Now the "dreary" library, which faces the Rashtrapati Bavan forecourt and provides a grand view of both the South and North Blocks, as well as of Raisina Hill and the magnificent boulevard stretching three kilometres to the India Gate martyrs' memorial, is all set for a facelift. 

"The President is very fond of books and loves to read. He wants to visit the library and spend sometime here," Venu Rajamony, the President's press secretary, told a news agency. 

The original library, which started functioning in 1950, had a huge wooden desk at the center, with beautiful paintings adorning its walls. A window on top allowed sunlight inside the room, making the marble floor glisten. Right now, the window is covered with a cloth. 

There are over 15,000 books in the library - some of them from the time the British Viceroy lived in this 340-room red standstone mansion. With cupboards filling up the room and books everywhere, it now looks more like a college library than a library of Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

As books are gifted to the president, the library over the years got crammed with them, making the authorities opt for wooden almirahs to house them. Soon, these were not enough and steel almirahs were added, and began to line up the corridor. But these too filled up. 

Seeing the state of the library, President Mukherjee expressed his wish to restore it to its original pristine glory of the 1950 era.  The librarian now has a huge task ahead. 

To begin with, old photographs were unearthed to see how the original library looked. Now, the effort is to replicate the original one. 

The steel almirahs have already been removed from the corridor, while the wooden ones will be moved out once the books are sorted, documented and stacked properly. 

At the moment, piles of books are lying everywhere. 

"Our aim is simple - first we will clean up the space, assess the books and then decide how best to utilize the library. We haven't decided yet, but we could invite scholars and individuals to the library after it's brought back to its original 1950 look," Rajamony told the agency. 

"Right now, we are clearing the furniture. Documenting the books, separating the historical books. We plan to keep only those that are historically relevant," he added.