Foundation Day First Annual Lecture Series

 

Tata Central Archives (TCA) was inaugurated by J.R.D. Tata on January 7, 1991. To commemorate Tata Central Archives Foundation Day, an Annual Lecture Series was organised. The aim of this Foundation Day Annual Lecture Series was to provide a platform for interaction, knowledge sharing and collaboration with other members from the archival fraternity.

The Foundation Day First Annual Lecture Series was held on January 31, 2020 this year. It was held at the “Takshashila” at the Tata Management Training Centre, Pune.

The theme for the Foundation Day Annual Lecture Series was “New Concepts in Archival Management”. Eminent personalities from relevant fields shared their insights with the participants. The speakers included G. Sundar, Director, the Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai, Ashok Maharaj, Head, Extended Reality (XR) Lab, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Siruseri, Chennai and T.R. Doongaji, Honorary Advisor, Tata Central Archives.

The program began with a welcome address by R.P. Narla, Archivist, TCA, followed by an inaugural address by S. Girikumar, an eminent conservator.

The first speaker for the day, G. Sundar addressed the audience on “Indigenous Methods in Paper Conservation”. His presentation laid emphasis on the traditional methods of preservation of paper documents and how these are less hazardous and more beneficial as compared the chemical conventional methods available for Indian conditions. He explained about the indigenous method of preservation using specific percentages of simple herbal household ingredients, having anti-insecticide, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. He also shared the methods of conservation and preservation followed at the Roja Muthiah Research Library.

The second speaker, Ashok Maharaj gave an insightful session on “Leveraging Extended Reality in Cultural Heritage”. Ashok Maharaj spoke about the emerging mediums for sharing of information and knowledge. He elaborated on the Extended Reality (ER) concept that integrates Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), illustrating the same with examples.

The final speaker for the day was T.R. Doongaji, who shared his thoughts on “Pursuing Excellence in Museums”. His presentation detailed the process of the “Museum Excellence Program”, modelled on the lines of the (Malcolm Baldridge Model) Tata Business Excellence Model, which aims at helping museums achieve excellence. The presentation explained the importance and the role of six criteria i.e. Leadership, Strategy, Visitors (Customers), Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management, Workforce (Human Focus) and Operations (Processes) for museums to excel.

The Foundation Day First Annual Lecture Series was attended by representatives from several archives, museums and cultural institutions from around the country. Members from the Reserve Bank of India Archives, Pune; State Bank of India Archives and Museum, Kolkata; Initiatives of Change (IofC) Archives, Panchgani; DCM Shriram Heritage Gallery and Archives, Rajasthan; Chinmaya Archives, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Science - Archives and Publications Cell, Bengaluru; Archive at the National Centre for Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru; Historical Archive of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai; CTS Restoration Products India Private Limited, New Delhi; National Film Archive of India, Pune; National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai; Tata Consultancy Services, Pune; College of Military Engineering, Pune; Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd., Pune; Murugappa Group, Chennai and The Indian Hotels Company Limited, Mumbai participated in this Lecture Series.