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Conceived and founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of
Tibet, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) is one of the most
important institutions in the world dedicated to the preservation and
dissemination of Tibetan culture.
The foundation stone for the Library's Tibetan style building was laid on
11th June 1970, in the hill station of
Dharamsala, north India.
Located within the compound of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, the
library serves as a repository for Tibetan artifacts and manuscripts and a
centre for language and cultural education. Its holdings include more than
80,000 manuscripts, books and documents, hundreds of thangkas, statues and
other artifacts, 6,000 photographs and other materials.
As a centre for the study of Tibetan culture, the Library of Tibetan
Works and Archives is firmly dedicated to a threefold vision of
preservation, protection and promotion. The Library looks forward into the
next century, confident of its role to preserve, and educate others about,
a culture threatened with destruction. More than 25 years after its
foundation, the need for such an institution as the Library of Tibetan
Works and Archives has continued to grow.
The primary objective of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives is to
provide a comprehensive cultural resource centre and to promote an
environment fostering research and an exchange of knowledge between
scholars and students. This is of the utmost importance in a contemporary
world shaped by political and spiritual confusion.
The Library's priorities include: Acquiring and conserving
Tibetan books and manuscripts, artifacts and works of art; Providing
access to books, manuscripts and reference works in Tibetan and foreign
languages, in study areas within the Library.
Compiling bibliographies and documentation of library holdings and
related literature available worldwide.
Providing copies and prints of library holdings.
Acting as a reference centre for such source materials (.) Publishing
books and manuscripts under the Library imprint.
Supporting research and study of the Tibetan language, classical and
modern, and the traditional arts and crafts.
The Tibetan Library has been in operation since 1st November 1971. The
Library is home to one of only two Tibetan Oral History projects in the
world. Its dynamic 'thangka' painting and woodcarving programmes are
indicative of the fact that cultural preservation includes the arts as
well as letters.
LTWA works in close collaboration with the Central Institute for Higher
Tibetan Studies in Sarnath and the Department of Religion and Culture of
the Central Tibetan Administration. With each year of operation increasing
numbers of visitors, researchers and students are drawn to this
institution which is able to provide them with an educational and cultural
experience available nowhere else in the world.
DEPARTMENTS OF THE LTWA The Libraries has got 70,000 manuscripts
and documents in Tibetan 10,000 books in English and foreign languages
dealing with Buddhism and Tibet related affairs.
The Archives contain several thousand legal and social documents in
Tibetan, some dating back as far as the 10th century. There are also 6,000
photographs, negatives and slides of Tibet.
The Museum comprises of 6,00 statues and thangka paintings several
hundred reliquaries and other ritual objects, some dating back to the 12th
century three-dimensional carved wood mandala of 'Avalokiteshvara'.
Education, operating the Centre for Tibetan Studies, which administers
courses in Philosophy and Tibetan Language.
Research and Translation.
Publications.
Oral History.
Administration.
TIMING:
April to September- Monday to Friday between 9 A.M. to 5. 30 P.M.
October to March- Monday to Friday between 9 A.M. to 5 P. M.