TBRC is pleased to announce that it has available for immediate release Core Text Collections, a service to institutional libraries.

A Core Text Collection is an assemply of digitalized Tibetan materials supplied on an external hard drive or via the web on TBRC Digital Library Management System's data center. Each collection contains multiple works on Tibetan literature which have been assembled specifically to be incorporated into institutional libraries. Each collection comprises roughly 1000 volumes from the TBRC holdings selected by E. Gene Smith, Executive Director of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center.

Within each Core Text Collection, each work is provided in both Adobe Acrobat PDF and TIFF formats. The PDFs are provided for everyday reading while the original source TIFFs makes access to individual or small groups of pages easier. Each work is contained in a top level directory designated by TBRC "W" number (i.e. a work number like "W22084"). Each work directory, in turn, contains two subdirectories, each of which holds the constituent tiffs and pdfs for that work. Web optimized PDFs are available on request.

How often do new Core Text Collections appear?

TBRC is making each Core Text Collection available at about one Collection per year. The first three are currently in circulation and the fourth should be appearing around December 2006. Due to the size, it is possible to fit three tranches on a single 250 GB hard drive.

Each Collection contains a catalog in PDF form. This is text-searchable meaning that users can search it for names, titles or TBRC work numbers. Upon finding the TBRC work number it is an easy matter to look on the collection and find the relevant directory. Naturally the work numbers are the same as the ones listed on the TBRC website so there is direct correspondence to that resource as well.

The Collections are supplied on an external hard drive. Please specify Windows (NTFS) or Mac OS X Extended Journaled. These drives are only able to be supplied with 110v power supplies. Users will have to arrange other voltage requirements at their end. For more information about institutional hard drives, please contact us.