Based on input from IFLA members in the south and south-east Asia region, IFLA decided to address the problems encountered by libraries and holders of palm leaf manuscript collections throughout the region. Metadata and digitisation standards for palm leaf manuscripts are a problem faced by many libraries in the region and as palm leaf manuscripts are an essential part of the regions documentary heritage, effective measures and capacity building should be in place to preserve these for the future. This is closely in line with IFLA’s core mission to preserve the world’s documentary heritage, outlined in the IFLA Strategic Plan 2015-2021.

In order to address these aspects, we are now hosting a scoping workshop which will bring together experts on the subject from the region to discuss possible solutions.