The IISc Archives was set up in 2007, ahead of the Institute’s centenary celebrations. It houses over 1,600 books and original documents, over 6,000 photographs, and over 50 artefacts. Some of these are over 100 years old and crucial not just to the history of the Institute, but also to the history of science in India and the world.
As the Archives’ visibility has grown in the Institute over the years, its collections have also been expanding rapidly. Over 100 individual donors have entrusted the Archives with photographs, papers, objects, and other valuable material. Several departments and administrative offices have transferred books, documents and photographs for safekeeping. In order to store and preserve this material, make it accessible (to historians, scientists and other kinds of researchers, including the interested public), and to be able to take in more material, the Archives requires substantial funds.
There are four key areas for which the IISc Archives requires funding: Conservation, Digitising, Outreach and Personnel. A total of Rs 3 crore is required to support these activities over the next five years.
Conservation
This would include consulting with conservators to restore/repair fragile material, procuring materials such as acid-free containers, boxes and powder-coated racks/almirahs; pest control, temperature and humidity control (including procuring dehumidifiers), and support for building maintenance, such as waterproofing and repairs.
Digitising
This includes procuring cloud storage, hard disks, laptops, computers, high-resolution printers and scanners, including an overhead scanner. A professional photographer and digitisation vendor will also be engaged to digitise large portraits or artefacts that cannot be scanned, and to carry out large-scale digitising. Software platforms for managing and cataloguing the digitised material will also be procured.
Outreach
The Archives will organise lectures, visits by school and college students, tours/heritage walks, public events, workshops and training sessions. It will also procure the necessary equipment, furniture and other tools required for hosting researchers in the reading room, as well as guides/booklets highlighting historical material (in the form of snippets from the archives).
Personnel
To carry out the above activities, a senior archivist and a junior archives staff member will be hired, apart from engaging housekeeping staff and interns. Support will also be required for their professional development.
Why you should contribute
All over the world, archives are often under-staffed and under-funded, despite providing a crucial service: preserving history. Having a state-of-the-art archive at IISc would mean keeping alive its institutional legacy, as well as the stories of all the individuals and organisations that contributed to it. Your contributions will enable the Institute to continue collecting and safeguarding material vital to preserving the history of science in the Institute and in India.
Ways to Give
You can donate directly by clicking the contribute button below. For international payments, the users will be charged 3% of the transaction amount as convenience charges.
If you wish to support this project through bank transfer or other means, please contact: development.odaa@iisc.ac.in
US-based donors can contribute through the IISc Foundation. Contributions made to the Foundation will enjoy tax benefits as allowed by the IRS under Section 501 (c3).