Preserving Persian culture, building the infrastructure for digital Persian manuscript studies
The Persian Manuscript Initiative (PMI) is a venture of the Roshan Initiative in Persian Digital Humanities—located at the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland (College Park)—dedicated to the preservation and digital enhancement of Persian manuscripts throughout the world.
Through a unique collaboration with the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library—global leaders in the digital preservation of endangered manuscripts—we are currently working on Persian manuscript projects in India and Pakistan. We are always open to new collaborations, so please get in touch if you have an idea for a new project.
Digitization: Working with global leaders in manuscript digitization, PMI will expand the number and quality of digitized Persian manuscripts, focusing in particular on archives in which the manuscripts are in danger due to political instability or lack of funding for proper preservation.
Education and Training: PMI is developing online training materials for teaching both manuscript studies and best practices for preservation and cataloging of Persian manuscripts.
Constructing Digital Infrastructure and Cultivating a Global Community of Users: PMI will develop the digital infrastructure to increase global access to Persian manuscripts. The development of this infrastructure will be coupled with a long-term plan for cultivating a committed global community of scholars and curators that will together increase our knowledge of the Persian manuscript tradition.
Assistant Professor of Persian Literature & Digital Humanities, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of Maryland, College Park
Software Architect, The Alpheios Project
Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park
Roshan Institute Chair in Persian Studies & Director, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Maryland, College Park
Professor of Theology, Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary, and Director, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Systems Librarian, Digital Programs and Initiatives & Digital Systems and Stewardship, University of Maryland Library
Professor of Library Science, School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University
Assistant Professor of Persian, The English and Foreign Languages University (Hyderabad, India)
Member, Institute for Advanced Study in Near Eastern Studies and School of Historical Studies, Princeton
Lecturer in Medieval History, Chair, Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages, University of Birmingham
Associate Professor at the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM)
William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Associate Professor of Islamic Art, University of Michigan
Professor of Persian, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Curator, Islamic Manuscripts Collection, University of Michigan
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Former Sicentific Director of BULAC Library
Professor of Islamic Intellectual History, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Professor of Persian and Indian Literature, Boston University
Professor of Persian, University of Delhi
Lead Curator, Persian and Turkish Collections, British Library
Preserving Persian culture, building the infrastructure for digital Persian manuscript studies
Interested in helping? Get in touch