 Dr.
Thaw Kaung is a leading authority in the field of library studies
in Asia, with a focus on Myanmar. His specialty is the preservation
of traditional documents. He has worked hard to preserve various
palm-leaf manuscripts over the past 1,000 years, and allowed
wide access to them. He contributed to the creation of a system
in which the people of Myanmar can conduct local research in
their native language using these documents and materials. He
has performed distinguished services for the preservation of
materials which are of archival value and traditional documents,
and is one of the leading figures in Asia in the library studies.
Dr. Thaw
Kaung diligently continued his studies despite having health
problems, and majored in English and literature at the University
of Yangon, graduating at the top of his class. He later received
a degree in librarianship from the University of London, and
was elected a Chartered Librarian of the Library Association
and Associate of the Library Association (ALA).
After returning
to Myanmar, Dr. Thaw Kaung was appointed Chief Librarian of
the Universities Central Library, Yangon in 1969. He engaged
in the down-to-earth work of training librarians and preserving
palm-leaf manuscripts and other texts. He authored teaching
materials on an introduction to librarianship and the handling
of important documents in Myanmar language. He also collected
approximately 16,000 bundles of palm-leaf manuscripts, including
valuable Buddhist texts, that faced imminent destruction due
to insect damage or drying. To properly preserve these palm-leaf
manuscripts, he installed air conditioning in a special chamber
in the library. This library has in its collection copies of
palm-leaf manuscripts created before the 19th century and which
were the first documents of this kind discovered. These copies
have been published sequentially with English translations by
the Pali Text Society in London as commentaries on the Buddhist
texts, enabling the documents to be widely used.
Furthermore,
Dr. Thaw Kaung established the Department of Library Studies
at the University of Yangon in 1971, working to begin the full-fledged
scale training of library studies specialists. He also played
a major role in establishing a graduate course leading to a
diploma in Library and Information Studies at the same school.
In addition to writing books on library studies, he has published
books and research reports in both Myanmar and English on Myanmar's
traditional culture and on the preservation of traditional documents,
which has increased public awareness in this area. He was one
of the central figures to establish the Myanmar Library Association
and the National Commission for the Preservation of Traditional
Manuscripts. He has been active overseas, as well.
In 1984 and
1991, he served as a Consultant Librarian to the British Library,
and in 1989 at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
In recent years, he has translated into English with Myanmar
and Thai collaborators, palm-leaf manuscripts in Myanmar about
Chiang Mai.
Thus, Dr.
Thaw Kaung has made a major contribution to the preservation
and utilization of palm-leaf manuscripts and other traditional
materials from Myanmar and other Asian countries. As a result,
he has pioneered historical research in Myanmar, the native
language of the people and has been widely acclaimed for illustrating
the significance of preserving valuable palm-leaf manuscripts
throughout Asia and the world. He is indeed a worthy laureate
of the Academic Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes. |
Lecture Archive
