University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine 2018 Fall Libraries Magazine

Thailand Unique Collections Tibet By Haley Griffith F or years, Asian and Hmong Studies librarian Larry Ashmun has provided a unique and important local connection between the Thai culture and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. For more than a decade now, Ashmun has shared such items as UW–Madison’s Thai Tripitaka and Thai Buddhist canon with K-12 educators and officials from Thailand who come to visit the collection. Larry now includes this experience as part of a three-week visit to sites around the state, including the UW–Madison campus. Ashmun has volunteered with the Wisconsin–Thailand Sunrise Program since it started in 2007. The program formed when the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Thailand Ministry of Education signed a cooperative agreement allowing Wisconsin schools to host groups of students and teachers from Thailand. 2018 marks the eleventh year of the program’s existence, which has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Individuals and hosting schools have expressed their appreciation of the opportunity to get to know and learn about Thai culture. Wisconsin and Thailand have developed strong connections through the UW–Madison Alumni Association, and the Thai chapter is among Larry Ashmun meets with students from Thailand during their visit to campus (L). A Thai bookplate noting, “The University of Wisconsin” & “The King of Siam” (R). 16 | LIBRARIES Fall 2018 the university’s largest international alumni associations. Ashmun said it is important to share the unique UW– Madison collections with visitors from Thailand because “the edition of the Thai Tripitaka, or Thai Buddhist canon, which we received from Siam in 1895, are both so special and rare, such that none of the Thai educators and students on the DPI program would’ve seen them before, even while in Thailand.” Ashmun continued, “During the short time the group is in Memorial Library, showing them a part of our regular Thai Studies holdings helps them understand the UW’s commitment to an internationally-recognized, strong Thai Studies collection.” Ashmun plans to continue his dedication to growing the collaborative efforts with Thai communities, both locally and abroad. “It’s a good example of our collaboration with DPI, while also being an informative opportunity to share with the Thai educators and students, some of whom might want to come to school here at UW,” explained Ashmun. “As a Thai Studies specialist who’s lived in Thailand for many years and is married to a woman from Thailand, it’s fun to learn about the students and teachers. Not only about where they’re from in Thailand, but also how they enjoyed their three- week experience in Wisconsin.” T he Tibetan collection, housed in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, was originally cataloged by Leonard Zwilling in 1984. The collection contains 549 items covering 350 separate titles, and includes approximately 50 Tibetan manuscripts which were originally “uncataloged, unorganized, and lacking even minimal bibliographic control” according to Zwilling’s work, Tibetan Blockprints in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Currently, the collection is under the care of library services assistant Lisa Nachreiner, who has picked up where Zwilling left off. Zwilling compiled his print catalog in 1984, but the titles were never entered into the library’s online database. Nachreiner is now working on a retro- conversion of his cataloging so that the works will be discoverable online. “Many of the block prints were published in Beijing/ Peking in the early part of the 20th century, so there may be Chinese title or imprint information that was not included in Leonard’s catalog,” explained Nachreiner. “I’ve worked to include this information as well.” Much of Nachreiner’s work involves creating online accessibility for the items in this unique collection, as well as transcribing the original descriptions that Zwilling wrote. “Although other institutions may hold the same editions of these titles, it seems that many of them have not yet converted their print catalogs,” said Nachreiner. “I do find myself creating new entries based on Leonard’s catalog.” Nachreiner often uses the same print catalogs and resources Zwilling referred to in his work 35 years ago. While the works in this particular collection are often unknown, Nachreiner said the concern of similar “hidden” Tibetan special collections have been recognized by the International Association of Tibetan Studies and efforts to make these collections more discoverable is now a priority. Everything from proposals to create a registry of collections, to finding aids to collate information about these resources is slowly gaining traction. “It’s been interesting to learn about these materials through Leonard’s efforts, as well as working through the challenges of figuring out how to catalog them within the current framework,” said Nachreiner. While she works to make the items in the collection even more accessible, Nachreiner is quick to thank Zwilling for his years of dedication to the collection. “While I am currently helping to make these resources discoverable online, it is really Leonard’s work that made all of this possible.” Gsol ‘debs le’u bdun pa dang Bsam pa lhun grub. Coll. R no. 52. (L) Chos skyong bai rgyal po bsrong btsan rgam poi bka bum las stod kyi cha thog mar bla ma rgyud pai gsol debs lo rgyus sogs. Coll. R no. 49 (R). University of Wisconsin–Madison | 17

University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine 2018 Fall Libraries Magazine | Page 16