Centuries-old TN archives to be digitised

The project, implemented by the e-Governance Agency, is expected to provide copies of records to the public if sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Higher education sources said Rs 1.05 crore has been sanctioned for the development of digitisation of archives.

The Archives has a huge collection of historical documents, photos and books, some of which are over 300 years old. “These facilities are available for historical research and public references. However, the retrieval of information manually is a time consuming process,” a senior official from the Tamil Nadu Archives told DTNext on Saturday. He added that the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services has developed a software ‘TNAEDMS’ for the purpose.

He also said that data entry of ‘finding aids’ and scanning of historical documents of the era post 1857 is being done. “The process is almost complete. The archival records would be available with latest search and index facilities”, another department official said, adding, the National Archives of India has approved a project worth Rs 47 lakh for scanning and microfilming of records. They will also provide computers and accessories to six district record centres.

According to him, 75 per cent of the project is being funded by the Centre and the remaining 25 per cent by the State. “The project is being implemented this year,” he added.