THE SYRIAC DIGITAL LIBRARY: ADOPT AN EBOOK

By Dr. George Kiraz
Director of the Syriac Digital Library

1. The Syriac Institute launched today Project eBeth Arké: The Syriac Digital Library. The project aims to bring 3,000 out-of-copyright books, journal articles, pictures, and audio recordings to the Internet in an eLibrary form. The Syriac name of the library, eBeth Arké, literally means 'house of archives' and denotes a library. Dr. George Kiraz directs the project. The Institute initiated the project and is leading it in partnership with major universities and libraries, including Brigham Young University, The Catholic University of America, Brown University, Dumbarton Oaks Library, Princeton Theological Seminary, and others. Associated with the project is a Library Partnership program that gives public and private libraries the opportunity to complete their collections, or start a collection. Publications on Syriac studies are usually scattered over so many libraries and are hard to obtain. eBeth Arké will bring all this material to every library, classroom and home through the Internet. The eLibrary contains books like the work of the Maronite scholar Assemani Bibliotheca Orientalis from 1719, the most comprehensive survey of Syriac literature to date. Grammars and dictionaries are also featured such as Nöldekes Syrische Grammatik from 1880, with its English translation from 1904, and Smiths Thesaurus Syriacus from 1879, with its English version Compendious Syriac Dictionary (1909).

1. Included are the various editions and publications of the Chaldean scholar Paul Bedjan, the Catalogues of Wright, and many text editions by Cureton, Lamy, and others with English, German and French translations. Works from the Middle East and India are an important part of the eLibrary, such as the dictionaries of Toma Oudo from 1897 and of Awgen Manna from 1900, and the grammar of the Syriac Catholic scholar Iqlimis Y. Daoud from 1896. Books on the late period such as Wigram's The Assyrians and Their Neighbours from 1929, and Southgate's Narrative of A Visit to the Syrian [Jacobite] Church of Mesopotamia from 1856 are also included.

1. The 3,000-item collection will include publications in English, German, French, Syriac, Arabic and other languages. Many scholars and libraries welcomed the project worldwide. "How frustrating it is that important literature on Syriac studies is scattered over so many periodicals and books, with the result that even a good library like Oxford University's Bodleian Library does not cover anything like the whole range," said Dr. Sebastian Brock, reader of Aramaic at Oxford's Oriental Institute. "To have all this material that is out of copyright collected together and made available in this way would be an immensely valuable service, not only to scholars working in this and the many related academic fields, but also to the wider public and above all, to people belonging to the different Churches of Syriac tradition," added Dr. Brock.

1. In implementing this project, the Institute is making use of the latest in eBook technology. Books are being digitised using high quality digitisation equipment. The images are then converted into eBook form, and when possible Optical-Character Recognition is applied in order to allow readers to search the text. Links are added from the table of contents and indices to pages, making navigation a click away. A Web version is created to allow readers borrow (i.e., download) eBooks from any place around the world. Sample eBooks are now available on the Institute's web page. The scope of this project is not limited only to one readership. "The Syriac Digital Library Project," commented Prof. Susan Harvey of Brown University "speaks to needs shared by an entire spectrum, from scholar to interested reader, from student to one whose heritage this is. It is a worthy undertaking indeed."

1. Beth Mardutho is hiring two professional digital content firms whose task is the digitisation of books, the creation of corresponding eBooks, and the building of a web-based virtual library. The average cost of digitising a book is $250. The Institute calls upon individuals and institutions to adopt books in order to build this eLibrary of 3,000 items. Various contribution plans are available, giving everyone the opportunity to be part of the project. A secure on-line donation form is available on the project's home page. For further information, to read sample eBooks, and to support this project, please visit www.bethmardutho.org (click on eBeth Arké).

• Beth Mardutho was established in 1992 to promote the study and preservation of the Syriac heritage and language, and to facilitate opportunities for people to pursue the study of this ancient legacy. The Institute aims to serve the academic community, and the heirs of the heritage the Syriac Orthodox, Assyrians, Maronites, Chaldeans, Syriac Catholics, St. Thomas Christians, and the Antiocheans and Melkites, transcending denominational diversity. Its Academic Committee consists of the most prominent scholars in the field.