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Help in Using the Tibetan and Himalayan Library Identification Numbers

THL is in the process of establishing permanent IDs for each resource – texts, images, audio-video, projects, and so forth. Once completed, every page of THL will have a THL ID search box in which you may enter a known ID number to deliver you straight to the resource in question. Also, each resource has a URL consisting of www.thlib.org plus the resource’s THL ID (see below for a detailed description).

THL ID is currently implemented on a preliminary basis for essays published within the Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (www.jiats.org). Each article has a simple alpha-numeric ID that begins with the letter “T” and then continues with a number. These T numbers (“T” stands simply for “text”) begin from “1” and continue indefinitely. There is no logic to the numbers given; they are merely a product of when the resource in question was cataloged or produced. Thus, the format for a given text ID is: T45, T55, etc. (note: there is no space between T and the number). In addition, these IDs can be added as search parameters to the URL www.thlib.org to create a short URL for that specific resource. The format of the search parameter is "?tid=" plus the THL ID number. ("tid" stands for THL ID.) For example, the URL for a text with THL ID 1215 would be www.thlib.org?tid=T1215.

In the coming months, we will gradually expand this feature so that it can be used for citation and access of other THL resources. This current help file will be updated with each expansion, so check back at www.thlib.org/#wiki=/access/wiki/site/0b308aa3-d044-469b-009a-d34c7841413d/thl%20id%20help.html!