A rare century-old collection of South Asian lithographs and manuscripts is now available online to researchers and the public through the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补’s , with the launch of its .
Created in 1903 by Atul K. Basu, the collection includes 35 lithographic prints and three typed manuscripts documenting Hindu mythology and religious narratives. Twenty-nine of the lithographs feature Bengali text with handwritten pencil transliterations, adding another layer of historical significance.
Collaboration, technological advances
The digitization project brought together librarians, archivists, technologists and students across Hamilton Library.
“Working on this project was my first experience contributing to the creation of a digital collection and a meaningful opportunity to apply metadata and collaboration in practice,” library and information science intern Munju Kim said.
Kim helped digitize the collection and developed its descriptive materials under the mentorship of IT Specialist Alisa Kwok, who led the digitization effort.
Metadata Librarian Stasha Gardasevic said the project also explored new technological approaches for digital collections.
“This project served as an excellent testbed for exploring the use of AI in supporting digital collections discovery with the transcription of non-Latin scripts,” Gardasevic said. “Gemini Pro did an excellent job interpreting Bengali script.”
Web Developer and Digital Collections Manager Daniel Ishimitsu helped publish the collection online, while Monica Ghosh, chair of the Asia Collection and South Asia Studies librarian, contributed language expertise and subject knowledge throughout the project.
The digital collection is expected to support future research in Hindu mythology, South Asian religious traditions, art history and visual culture.
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