Library
of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) is situated at McLeodganj town of
Dharamsala. It was founded by the 14th Dalai Lama and serves as an
institution to preserve and promote Tibetan culture. It has more than
80,000 Tibetan artifacts, such as statues, Tibetan thangkas, miniature
paintings, books, documents, photographs and manuscripts, on display.
Housed in a building built as per the Tibetan style of architectural,
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives was founded on 11th June 1970.It is situated within the premises of the Tibetan Government in exile, which was granted refuge at Dharamsala by the first Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. The library was inaugurated on 1st November 1971 and today, it serves as an education center for Tibetan culture and language in Himachal Pradesh. LTWA, being the repository of the endangered Tibetan culture, has a mission to preserve, protect and promote it. It has been working for more than 30 years now in this direction and still feels the need to do much more.
This all-embracing cultural resource center promotes a research-oriented environment and exchange of knowledge between scholars and students. Its objectives include acquiring and conserving Tibetan books, artifacts, manuscripts and artworks and making them accessible for reference works in Tibetan and foreign languages in study areas within the Library. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives also engages itself in the compilation of bibliographies and documentation of library holdings and the literature related to them.
Last but not the least; it also publishes books and manuscripts that support study and research of classical, traditional and modern Tibetan language, arts and crafts. Programs are organized here to train people in 'thangka' painting and woodcarving. LTWA works in close collaboration with the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarnath and the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration. It draws a lot of visitors, researchers and students from all over the world.
