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Indian Studies | Pengajian India: University of Chicago

This guide is intended to assist students, researchers, scholars and enthusiasts find resources in Indian Studies

Introduction

The University of Chicago has perhaps the largest collection of South Asian materials outside the Library of Congress. Here are some of their major collections and projects, some of which (but not all) are available online or via ILL.  View other recommended sites and search their catalog from this guide.

  • Roja Muthiah Research Library. The University of Chicago has purchased the private collection of the late Roja Muthiah of Kottaiyur, Tamil Nadu. The University and a collaborating trust, MOZHI, have established the Roja Muthiah Research Library in Madras to house this collection.
  • The Official Publications of India project resulted in the deposit of more than 23,000 volumes of duplicate volumes from the British Library at the University of Chicago.  The Official Publications of India collection includes the pre-1947 publications of the Government of India and of other governments within the subcontinent.
  • The Urdu Research Centre preservation project. The University of Chicago is home for a new program to acquire and preserve the collection of Mr. Mohd. Abdus Samad Khan.  In concert with six other institutions or consortia, the private library was purchased in 1996.
  • Microfilming of Indian Publications Project, a joint project of the Library of Congress and the National Library of India to film about 55,000 in various languages, listed in The National Bibliography of Indian Literature: 1901-1953, edited by B.S. Kesavan.
  • Adyar Library/University of Chicago Preservation Project. With support from the Kern Foundation, the University of Chicago is microfilming pamphlets from the first half of the 20th century, held by the Adyar Library and Research Center in Madras. A list of Adyar publications is available athttp://www.ts-adyar.org/catalogue.html#research.
  • Indological Series Project. With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the University of Chicago Library produced a guide to Indian texts and studies published in South Asian monographic series. Most of these books are primary texts in Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit or translations into modern languages.
  • The South Asia Microform Project (SAMP), is microfilming nineteenth-century publications in South Asian languages from the former India Office Library. Microfilm copies are available from the Center for Research Libraries through Interlibrary Loan.  *See a list of SAMP collection holdings*
  • Digital South Asia Library is a project of the Center for Research Libraries and the University of Chicago for improved digital access to South Asia resources. This includes development of an infrastructure for electronic document delivery to and from selected South Asia libraries, and creation of new electronic resources comprised primarily of data entered by project participants in South Asia. Current contents include the following: