Treasure Trove of Traditional Knowledge: A Case Study of Sikh History and Research Centre Library

Libraries, museums and archives safeguard the cultural heritage of the nation by preserving primary sources of knowledge. Sikh History and Research Centre at Khalsa College, Amritsar, plays a prominent role in safeguarding the history of Sikhs and the Punjab region. The centre is dedicated towards preservation, conservation, documentation and scholarly study of the literature, religion, philosophy, cultural and regional history of the Punjab. This article documents the journey of research centre over a century and explores details about the development at the centre. The centre houses 6935 books in Sikh reference library along with 601 manuscripts. It also explores the historical development and contribution of directors of the centre over a century from collection building to documentation, cataloguing, as well as modernization of infrastructure and digitization of manuscripts. It also explores the five galleries dedicated to different themes such as Guru Sahibaan, Sikh Raj and rulers, historical monuments, Khalsa College alumni and Sikh art and Guru Bani manuscripts. These galleries have a great collection of pictures related to respective themes and act as a bridge between Sikh history and future scholars.