Rare Tibetan classics go digital

More than 50 volumes of ancient books in the Tibet autonomous region have been converted into e-books for public reading through the efforts of the Library of Tibet, Xinhua News agency reported.

The books and documents have been available since Saturday, marking the entry of ancient Tibetan texts into the digital age.

The content of the books and documents includes biographies of ancient scholars, Tibetan history, the Buddhist history of various Tibetan places. Most of the works were created by ancient Tibetan scholars and Buddhist masters.

Digital publication promotes the protection and utility of the ancient books, said Penpa Tsering, deputy head of the region's center for ancient document protection. More books are expected to be added in the future to serve the public.

Tibet has made a substantial effort in recent years to preserve and publish ancient books through digital conversion.

Currently, the region has registered more than 18,000 volumes of ancient Tibetan books and documents, along with 3,000 pages of endangered documents. Some 291 book volumes from Tibet have been listed in the Catalogue of National Rare Ancient Books.