(updated 3/27/2002)

This page will highlight current and new projects undertaken by SAMP and will include project summaries and updates. 
Submissions or updates are welcome to James Simon.

For completed projects or those removed from active consideration, please visit the SAMP Archive.

New Proposals (for consideration at SAMP 2002)

1. Indian Land Settlement Reports
2. Kenneth Jones Serials
3. Kavyetihasa Samgraha

Current Projects Underway

•  Bene Israel titles (1920-1930):  SAMP is exploring the microfilming of publications of the Bene Israel community in India.  The culture and history of the Bene Israel Jews (one of three Jewish communities in India) is reflected in publications held by SAMP members and other institutions within the United States.  The University of Washington will work with Harvard University as well as the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in determining holdings to film.
  Primary Contact:  Irene Joshi, James Nye
  Approved Date: April 1996
  Status: (3/2000) Nye will examine holdings at these libraries as well as the British Library and report to SAMP.
• Brittle Bangladeshi Books: SAMP will film 30 rare and unusual 19th and 20th century books from East Bengal/Bangladesh.  This titles are in Persianized Bengali language and printed in the Perso-Arabic style.  These brittle books, collected by Tony Stewart, cover subjects such as religion and literature.
  Primary Contact:  Bronwen Bledsoe
  Approved Date: March 2001
  Status: See Full Proposal
• Dastan-i Amir Hamza: This important collection of tales has been filmed in part by the Library of Congress and SAMP.
  Primary Contact: Frances Pritchett
  Approved Date:
  Status:  Some pages missing or mis-filmed from some titles.  SAMP membership agreed to help fill in pages for eventual splicing into microfilm.   Once list of missing pages is supplied, James Simon will contact Shamsur Rahman Faruqi for filming.
• Gadar Party Collection: This collection has been transferred to the Bancroft Library at Berkeley.  SAMP approved funds to film unique items from the collection.   The Hindustan Gadar (Ghadar) party was an Indian nationalist party based in northern California from 1900 through the 1920s.  The collection  includes publications from the movement as well as related publications from India and Canada on social and political reform.
  Primary Contact: Suzanne McMahon
  Approved Date: April 1996
  Status: McMahon will provide list of items to be filmed at Berkeley.  
• Kaiser-i-Hind:   The University of Manchester has donated to SAMP their complete collection of Kaiser-i-Hind, ranging from 1882 until the end of its publication in 1981.   This newspaper, published in Gujerati and English, became a platform for the Indian National Congress formed in 1885.  The paper represents the view of the Parsi community in India and is of great historical value to historians, scholars, and political scientists.  SAMP has collated the material and has begun the process of filming the brittle collection.
  Primary Contact: James Simon
  Approved Date: April 1996
  Status: Years 1890-1899 have been filmed.  Meanwhile, CRL has proposed that Kaiser be filmed under the ICON project, with cost-share from SAMP.
• Microfilming of Indian Publications Project: To date, approximately 24,000 of the 55,000 projected titles have been filmed under the auspices of this grant (originally supported by the United States-India Fund (USIF) and the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities) and its follow-on activities.  The Government of India has decided to withdraw its financial commitment to this project.  SAMP will continue to urge the continuation of the bilateral commitment and ongoing participation in the project.
• Nepali Newspapers (Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, Kathmandu): SAMP has approved a proposal to acquire 20 reels of newspapers filmed by the Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya (MPP).  These papers were filmed but never duplicated.  SAMP will fund duplication of the material in exchange for film copies, and will provide additional funding for the MPP to continue filming materials.
  Primary Contact: David Magier
  Approved: March 2001
  Status: See Full Proposal
• Regional microfilming efforts: SAMP has purchased a portable camera for use at the University of Bombay and at the American Institute of Pakistan Studies in Pakistan.  The camera will be used to support regional microfilming projects for SAMP described elsewhere on this page. 
  Primary Contact: James Nye
  Approved Date: March 1998, March 2001
  Status:  1st camera purchased Feb. 1999.  Most recently used for filming of Sukumar Sen manuscripts in Calcutta.
  2nd camera approved March 2001.
• Shab Khun (Allahabad):  SAMP will film this title, perhaps the most important literary journal of Urdu.  The title has been published continuously since 1966. 
  Primary Contact: David Magier
  Approved: March 2001
  Status: See Full Proposal
• South Asian publications on microfiche:  Since 1981, SAMP has been cooperating with CRL in purchasing the complete set of South Asia publications in microfiche produced by the Library of Congress field office in New Delhi.  CRL purchases all current serial titles, while SAMP purchases monographs and retrospective serial titles.  The collection is shelved by microfiche number - titles can be accessed through the Library of Congress publications "Accessions List: South Asia" (  -1996) and "The South Asian Bibliographer" (1998-present).
  Primary Contact: James Simon
  Status:  Fiche received in FY2002:  IN99/93 (India, 9 titles); IN00/36 (Sri Lanka, 25 titles); IN00/57 (Bangladesh, 15 titles). 
• Sukumar Sen papers:  SAMP has proposed the filming of manuscripts of Sukumar Sen, one of the most eminent Bengali linguists and literary scholars of the 20th century.  The manuscript collection, assembled by the late Professor Sen over the course of his life, is held near Calcutta and contains many rare block prints and some sole exemplars of texts.  SAMP will dispatch one of the portable cameras in the region to perform the filming at a future date.
  Primary Contact: James Nye, Rebecca Manring
  Approved Date: March 1998
  Status: (3/2001) filming completed in Calcutta, utilizing SAMP's portable camera.  Film to be supplied to SAMP March 2001 (?).

New/Developing Proposals

• Titles approved at the SAMP 2001 meeting include Brittle Bangladeshi Books, Nepali Newspapers at MPP, and Shab Khun.  SAMP also approved purchase of a second portable camera for regional microfilming efforts.  See listings above for descriptions.
• Bengali Journals:  The Center for the Study of Social Sciences (Calcutta) has a number of Bengali literary and historical journals that have been filmed. Although the prices were higher than SAMP wished to consider, Partha Chatterjee indicated that they may be willing to consider a one-for-one exchange of SAMP material.
  Primary Contact:  James Nye
  Proposed:  March 2000
  Status: (3/2001) Faculty representative Rebecca Manring will examine potential titles for acquisition.
• Digital South Asia Library titles: SAMP is considering models of collaboration with DSAL.  Titles proposed include
  • Proposal 1 - Annual of Urdu Studies
  • Proposal 2 - Mahfil Journal of South Asian Literature
  • Proposal 3 - Social Scientist
• Primary Contact: Rebecca Moore
  Proposed Date: March 2001
  Status: Executive Committee to examine issues and make recommendations by October 2001.
• Official Publications of India:  Cambridge University may offer its 17,000 volumes of the Official Publications of India to anyone who will pay the shipping costs.    
  Primary Contact: James Nye
  Proposed Date: March 1999
  Status: (3/2001) A subcommittee (James Nye, Allen Thrasher, David Magier) explored the costs for shipping to Chennai from Cambridge for filming.  Would cost $3-4,000.  SATOE is examining holdings in the U.K. to determine duplicate holdings that may be filmed.  Pospone action until 2002.
• Selections from the Native Press, Madras: The University of Wisconsin has filmed Selections from the Native Press, Madras from 1877-1921.  SAMP has discussed filming the unpreserved portions of this title to complete the microfilm collection. 
  Primary Contact: Carol Mitchell (?)
  Proposed Date: March 1997
  Status:  Wisconsin to determine whether it will film incomplete holdings.  If they are unable to do so, SAMP will ballot whether to film.  Ray Lum will contact Wisconsin to encourage them to film this collection.
• Serials from the Marwari Library:   Suzanne McMahon (Berkeley) proposed that SAMP help support the filming of unique literary and women's journals from the Marwari Library in Chandi Chawk.  The material (which includes the journal on Hindi literature, Saraswati) was moved to the Library of Congress field office in New Delhi.  SAMP conditionally approved up to $400 to assist with the collation and cataloging of the material.
  Primary Contact: Suzanne McMahon
  Proposed Date: March 1999
  Status:  Unknown
• Sri Lankan Newspapers: Professor Patrick Peebles at the University of Missouri-Kansas City has in his possession a number of microfilmed newspapers in Sinhalese that could possibly be donated to SAMP. Irene Joshi will contact him and pass his information to James Simon.
  Primary Contact:  James Simon
  Proposed: March 2000

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