International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

The Role of Asiatic Society, Kolkata in Collection Development and Preserving Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS): a Study

In this study explore the intersection of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) of the Asiatic Society, emphasizing its collection development, human resource development, and ICT based automation status of it. Also, the study focused on the last five years of library budget at the Asiatic Society. This research study adopted a quantitative research approach. The study focused on collection development at the Asiatic Society. The questionnaires were distributed to the Librarian and Library Information Assistant at The Asiatic Society, Kolkata. Also, some of the data is collected from the website of the Asiatic Society. The data is analyzed in Excel i.e., Table, Bar, Pie chart presented in descriptive and interpretative form. The study finds that the total collection of Rare Books is 17,469 and Rare Journals collection is 14,226. It is revealed that 66% of the Technical Staff at the Asiatic Society in Kolkata are vacant as of now. Total 15 subjects’ collection are covered in Asiatic Society, Kolkata. The Language of Asiatic Society collection is divided into 5 sections. A huge, historically valuable microfiche collection of 22553 frames, preserving material for preserving historical material in a physical format. Also, the study focused on the library budget of the Asiatic Society, in which the maximum amount was allocated 24.02 Cr.in the year of 2021-22. This research reflected the total collection, rare books, rare journal, staff capacity, budget, and ICT status of The Asiatic Society. This study explores the indigenous knowledge of The Asiatic Society, it is not merely as a colonial-era institution but as a continuing bridge between India’s past and present knowledge systems, with critical implications for the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous Knowledge in the recent era.