1. Sponsorship Opportunity
December 2012
National Library of Mongolia:
Saving Tibetan Books for Future Generations

2. Fragile heritage…

3. a jewel of humanity’s wisdom

4. …in need of protection.

5. Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia
• Buddhism spread in waves from Tibet to
Mongolia starting as early as the 3rd
century.
• Zanabazar (1635-1723) was recognized
as a reincarnate lama and became the
first spiritual king of Mongolia and head
of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism
• By the early 20th century there were
upwards of 700 monasteries and
100,000 Mongolians living and
practicing as Buddhist monks
• For 200+ years during the Ming dynasty
Mongolian monasteries printed a huge
body of Tibetan Buddhist literature

6. Upheaval during Soviet period
• Beginning in 1921 and for the better
part of two decades, “Cultural Purges”
led and inspired by the Soviets
erased Buddhism from Mongolia
• All but a small handful of monasteries
were destroyed. Monks were
murdered, interned or secularized
• A vast majority of Buddhist literature
in Mongolia was lost at this time
• Some books were rescued and taken
to Ulaanbaatar, others hidden in
caves or buried underground

7. National Library of Mongolia
• The National Library was founded in 1921
and is the largest library in Mongolia
• In the 1980’s and 1990’s it began
receiving large additions to its Tibetan
collection as more people felt confident
they would be protected
• It is thought to contain the largest single
collection of Tibetan Buddhist books
anywhere in the world
• More than 80% of this collection remains
un-catalogued and housed in less than
ideal conditions
• No one knows exactly what or how many
books are in the collection

8. Asian Classics Input Project (ACIP)
preserves wisdom traditions
• Since 1999 ACIP has worked to catalogue and digitize
the Tibetan Collection in Mongolia, paying the salaries of
local Mongolian - Tibetan scholars most of whom have a
degree in Textology and Tibetology from the National
University of Monoglia.
• This work was put on hold two years ago due to
increasing salary requirements and insufficient funding
from existing donors
• Books are digitally photographed and archived for future
transliterations freely available to international scholars
• In addition to Mongolia, ACIP maintains input centres in
Bylakuppe, Hunsur and Sarnath, India creating
searchable e-books has also worked in partnership with
the Russian Academy of Science in St. Petersberg.
• ACIP was launched with a grant from the David & Lucile
Packard Foundation and has been featured in Wired
Magazine and documentaries made by Xerox and the
Learning Channel
• For more information on the history and current work of

9. ACIP preserves wisdom traditions
• In addition to Mongolia, ACIP maintains Tibetan
input centres in Bylakuppe, Hunsur and Sarnath,
India and previously in Leh, Ladakh creating
searchable e-books freely accessible to scholars
around the world
• ACIP has also worked in partnership with the
Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersberg as
well as doing work to preserve Sanskrit texts from
various Hindu and yogic traditions in India.
• ACIP was launched with a grant from the David &
Lucile Packard Foundation and has been featured
in Wired Magazine and in documentaries made by
Xerox Corporation and the Learning Channel
• For more information on the history and current
work of ACIP please visit: www.asianclassics.org

10. GIFT sponsors preservation efforts
• The Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT) is seeking sponsorship for the
preservation of the Tibetan collection in Mongolia
• GIFT has installed new hardware with capacity for up to 48 input operators,
allowing the entire collection to be digitized in 3 years. In addition, GIFT is
supporting six salaried employees including five input operators until additional
funding is secured
• For more information about GIFT please visit: www.global-inst.com

11. Local support from Ministry of Culture
• Since July 2012 Mongolia has a new
Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism
responsible for the National Library and
other institutions containing items of
cultural heritage
• The Ministry has endorsed the work of
ACIP in building a digital catalogue and
preserving the collection through digital
photographing and transliteration
• National Library Director Chilajaav
Khaidav and his management staff are
available to meet with individuals and
organisations who are interested to
sponsor the project

12. Saving Books, as Mongolia grows…
• Mongolia’s economy is growing at a rate upwards of 15% per year and salaries of
government workers are steadily increasing
• Since economic liberalisation in the early 1990’s Buddhism has been overshadowed by
the dominant market mentality and modernisation
• The opportunity to help save Mongolian heritage and its Tibetan Buddhist roots is
precious and urgent, as sweeping changes are taking place in Ulaanbaatar
• Without financial resources and the awareness that comes with a higher domestic profile
this treasure is in danger of being lost...

13. An estimated 800,000 titles…

14. …waiting to be catalogued

15. Largest single collection of Tibetan books

16. …anywhere in the world

17. Funding Requirements and Timing
# of input Total Fixed costs - Monthly Estimated texts Total time Estimated**
operators employees* infrastructure salaries input / month (months) project costs
48 62 $11,200 $31,000 13,680 36 $1.1m
20 27 $4,000 $13,500 5,700 87 $1.2m
10 14 $1,600 $7,000 2,850 175 $1.5m +
5 6 $6,000 $3,000 1,425 350 N/A
* includes additional employees as checkers and compilers for maintaining quality and organizing physical collections
** cost estimations beyond 3 years will be revised upwards for inflation and rising wages in Mongolia
The goal is to catalogue and digitize the entire Tibetan collection in 3-5 years at a total
project cost of just over US$1 million

18. How you can be involved
• The priority is to hire additional input operators to
increase the speed of cataloguing and digitizing
• You may offer a one-time donation towards a number of
operators, a number of titles or an ongoing monthly gift
• Using the newly installed server technology you will be
able to directly monitor the results of your donation and
the exact number and titles which are preserved
$1.1m = 48 operators + 14 staff x 36 months
(total project cost)
$120K = 10 operators x 12 months
(est. 34,000 texts saved in 1 year)
$6,200 = 1 operator x 12 months
$500 = 1 operator x 1 month
Your contribution can be aligned with your specific interests and ability

19. Help preserve Tibetan Buddhist
heritage in Mongolia
To make a donation or to discuss the options available for supporting the project
please contact us. As a sponsor you are intimately involved in a historic effort
toward preserving Mongolian and Buddhist heritage for the benefit of everyone.
Eric Stryson
Director
Global Institute for Tomorrow
+852 3571 8104
estryson@global-inst.com

20. Thank you for your support!