INTERVIEW WITH S. THEODORE BHASKARAN, DIRECTOR, ROJA MUTHIAH RESEARCH LIBRARY (RMRL)

RMRL is a research library for those interested in South Indian studies. It is unique and different from usual libraries. You will find here certain collections, which normally do not find a place in libraries and research centres. For instance, Roja Muthiah himself has collected wedding invitations, cinema posters and matchboxes, which probably do not find a place anywhere else. But the material available here is only in Tamil and we continue to collect only printed documents.

This is probably the saddest part of the whole scheme. We have not opened the library for the public still. It is because we have still not finished cataloguing and microfilming and do not have adequate facilities to offer to them. But yes, visitors to library are welcome all the time.

We will be shifting to new premises shortly. And we are putting our best towards making RMRL a full-fledged digital library. We would like to carry forward the work done by Muthiah and plan to amass print collections in Tamil.

Yes! It is exclusively a print heritage in Tamil. It has also the largest Tamil collection anywhere in the world.

The Maraimalai Adigal library is one such.

Writer A.K.Ramanujam, noted anthropologist Milton Singer and advocate Purushotamman from Chennai have parted with their collections. We would like to continue on the same lines as Muthiah.

We have state of the art technology. A digital library would be a boon for the researcher. They can access the microfilm through the net. We also have a bilingual catalogue, which automatically displays the Tamil and the Roman scripts.

Many. A.K.Ramanujam, David Schulman, N. Mahalingam and Sanjay Subramanyam to name a few.

Address:
Roja Muthiah Research Library,
Dr. Jayalalitha Nagar,(Mogappair East) Annanagar, Chennai.
Phone: 656 0549
Fax: 656 0024.

Click here for a profile on the RMRL

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