Annie Oelschlager was hired as a full-time web developer for SEADL in March 2020. Since accepting the position, Annie has been working to improve the structure of Southeast Asia Digital Library (SEADL), adding new digitized materials to the site, and is currently redesigning SEADL’s website.
Two current projects in Southeast Asia are a digitization project in Cambodia and a video project in Vietnam.
In Cambodia, we have digitized a collection of 500 palm-leaf manuscripts from the National Library of Cambodia. The manuscripts serve as resources on Buddhism, literature, and the culture of Cambodia. They are among the few library materials that survived the destruction of the Khmer Rouge regime, who burned most of the national library’s books. By digitizing the manuscripts, we preserve the cultural heritage of the Cambodian people. The digitization of the manuscripts in Cambodia has been completed, and all the digitized manuscripts sent to NIU. We are working on the metadata for the manuscripts and plan to make them available on SEADL soon.
In Vietnam, we have been working with scholars at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, to create videos documenting the religions of the Cham people, a minority group in Vietnam. There are 162,000 Cham remaining in Vietnam today, concentrated in two areas: central Vietnam and the Mekong Delta. Among the Cham in central Vietnam, about half of the population follow Hinduism (Cham Ahier), and about half of the population practice a form of Islam called Bani (Cham Awal). Hinduism and Islam as practiced by the Cham in central Vietnam contain many indigenous elements. These videos will serve as re-search materials for Chamic Studies.
The video project in Vietnam is progressing. About ten videos have been created. The project partners are now editing the videos and adding English subtitles. There are plans to create more videos when the travel ban to Vietnam is lifted. The videos should be available on SEADL by the end of this year.
Hao Phan
