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THL Partners

The Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) works together with many external partners in mutually beneficial exchanges and collaboration. The University of Virginia in the US is not listed here, since it is the original and continuing host of THL’s overall infrastructure and key support staff. We also do not list universities and other organizations whose faculty, students and staff may contribute in THL, but are not systematically involved as an institution with THL. Though this does not list individuals involved in THL, we do plan eventually to relaunch a comprehensive database of all participants in THL.

The following is an alphabetical list of these partners with short descriptions of each partnership.

Columbia University

Columbia University is home to one of the largest Tibetan Studies programs in the US. It has been one of the key universities participating in the general development of THL collections as led by Tibetan Studies Professors Gray Tuttle and Robbie Barnett, as well as Film Program Digital Media Center director Cecil Esquivel-Obregón and alumnus Nelson Walker, Columbia has partnered with THL on audio-video taping of oral traditions, language instructional materials, historical GIS, documentation of the Amdo cultural region, the Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, and the participatory film initiative.

Digital Himalaya

Digital Himalaya is a prominent UK-based web site focusing on ethnographic and historical documentation of especially the southern Himalayan regions, with a special focus on audio-video recordings and digitized journals. Led by its director Mark Turin, Digital Himalaya has been a close partner with THL from the inception of THL in developing shared collections including historical audio-video recordings, digitized journals from the region, and maps and GIS data pertaining to Nepal.

Machik

Machik is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening Tibetan communities through education, capacity building, social entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment and strategies toward sustainable community initiatives, as well as being the primary partner in the establishment of the UVa Tibet Sustainable Governance Program. Led by co-founders Tashi Rabgey (Strategic Director) and Losang Rabgey (Executive Director), Machik partners with THL on multiple cultural documentation projects, participatory knowledge initiatives, the geotourism portal, and the development of the Tibetan language digital library.

Rabsal

Rabsal is an eastern Tibet-based community services NGO focusing on the use of audio-video technology in community-based participatory documentation, Tibetan film making, and the creation of community services training and awareness-raising materials. Led by Director Tsering Perlo, Rabsal has been a central partner with THL in the cultural documentation of eastern Tibet, the building of materials for the Tibetan Geotourism portal, and the founding of the participatory knowledge initiative.

Rice University

Rice University has been an important center for Tibetan Studies in the US for two decades. Led by Professor Anne Klein, Rice has played a key in developing THL’s Tibetan literary collections, and in particular has led the foundation of Bonpo literary collections in THL.

Tibet Academy of Social Sciences

The Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) if one of the major humanities and social sciences research organizations in China that focus on Tibet. TASS been a key general partner in the development of THL from its inception with the involvement of many researchers, and in particular has supported the documentation of Tibetan cultural traditions with audio-video recordings, the documentation of the Ngari cultural region, the linguistic documentation of Tibetan, geographic research on the Tibet Autonomous Region, research on Tibetan Monasteries, and a multi-year study of the City of Lhasa.

Tibet University

Tibet University is one of the two or three major universities in China with strong Tibetan Studies traditions, and large numbers of Tibetan faculty, staff, and students. Tibet University has been a key general partner in the development of THL with the involvement of many faculty, and in particular has supported the Transcription Center for transcribing Tibetan audio-video recordings, the input of classical Tibetan literature, the documentation of oral traditions, the creation of tourism study resources, language instructional initiatives, the documentation of contemporary art, and the the creation of new Tibetan information technologies.

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center is the world's major digital library preserving, organizing and disseminating Tibetan literature. Led by Gene Smith, TBRC has generously supported THL literary initiatives by providing relevant digital texts, and currently is working in partnership with THL to share data resources on Tibetan texts and places across the TBRC and THL web sites.

University of California at Santa Barbara

The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) is home to one of the major Tibetan Studies programs in the US. Led by Professor José Ignacio Cabezón, UCSB has been chiefly responsible for the Sera Monastery portal, one of THL’s most important publications, and has co-founded and developed with the University of Virginia the Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies.