Panaji: The state central library is breathing new life into colonial-era literary treasures, ensuring that their fragile pages are scanned before they teeter on the edge of extinction. “In the first phase of this heritage preservation initiative, 32 lakh pages of rare Portuguese books and periodicals housed on the fourth floor of the library are being meticulously digitised,” curator Sulaksha Kolmule told TOI. She said that the project is likely to be completed by the end of the year.The library comprises rare books that include manuscripts, codices, and imprints in Portuguese, Latin, Castilian, Tamil, Ceylonese, Canary, and Konkani, many of which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.The ongoing first phase, covering about 47,487 rare books, was originally expected to be completed by March. Currently, the digitised copies are available in physical form for research and archival reference within the library premises. Public online access, however, will be enabled only after the project’s complete execution.The agency entrusted with this sensitive and significant task is SG Informatics India, New Delhi, a firm that specialises in digitisation of archival collections. Funding for the project is being provided by Info Tech Corporation of Goa (ITG), through grants received from Union govt. ITG is also responsible for managing the project’s work order, financial estimates, and timelines.TOI reported in 2023 that termites were feasting on some of the rarest books in the library’s collection. Since Goa was under Portugal rule, books printed and published in Portugal and its other territories were also sent to the library in Goa. Former senior librarian Maria Nita Paiva stated at the time that “this is therefore the only library in Asia that has only one copy of the books published at the time. The only other copies from that time are across libraries in Portugal”.
