PU opened its Archival Cell at A.C. Joshi Library 

Chandigarh, October 9, 2024: Panjab University(PU), has opened its Archival Cell at A.C. Joshi Library for PU faculty and its research scholars. 

PU Vice Chancellor Prof. Renu Vig today inaugurated the dedicated reading hall and Book-Scanner for PU faculty and research scholars of Panjab University Chandigarh at the ground floor of its A.C. Joshi Library. With this a longstanding demand of PU faculty members and research scholars for 'a separate space for using Manuscripts, Rare Books, Maps, Historical Gazetteer, Historical Photographs, and Government Reports etc.' has been  fulfilled. 

PU Library houses as many as 1500 manuscripts, 40 thousand rare books, important newspaper collection (since 1952), maps, historical gazetteer, historical photographs, and government reports etc. These are primary sources particularly for Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, Education, Inter-faith studies as well as Linguistic research. A high-end Book-Scanner has also been installed to convert these rare archival documents into digital/electronic documents which may facilitate multiple access to the same document in the one hand and to minimize the damage to the original Manuscript/Rare Books and other documents on the other.

Last year, UGC Chairman Prof M.Jagadesh Kumar made a visit to the Cell and found these collections aptly managed and hoped these could be used for the linguistic research and re-visiting history. NAAC team, while a visit to the Cell, also found these collections invaluable and praised for excellent management and up keeping of these records. However, it was felt that these needs to be opened for use of the PU scholars and beyond for qualitative research.

Earlier, the PU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Vig had also felt the need to provide adequate space to faculty and research scholars of Panjab University, foreign scholars and scholars from other universities and institutions for larger focus on the history and related documents being preserved at Archival Cell. Therefore, a seating capacity of around 50 faculty members and research scholars have been created in the first stage with facility to use laptop and other electronic equipment.

A high-end Book-Scanner has also been installed to convert the available rare archival documents into digital/electronic documents, which may facilitate multiple access to the same document in the one hand and to minimize the damage to the original Manuscript/Rare Books and other documents on the other.

Dr. Mritunjay Kumar, Incharge, Archival Cell, on behalf of all the staff members, thanked the PU Vice-Chancellor for her support to the project. This new facility will be very helpful to the research for their intended research based upon the documentation of Archival Cell, he added. 

Prof. Savita Bhatnagar, Director, RDC & University Librarian (Additional Charge), Prof. Harsh Nayyar, Ex-Director, RDC, Prof. Y.P. Verma, Registrar, Panjab University, Prof. Amarjit Singh Naura, President PUTA, various faculty members and research scholars were also present on the occasion.