Digitization Initiatives in Thailand

National Archives of Thailand（→NAT Website）

　　The National Archives of Thailand is an institution for collecting and making available historical resources on the Kingdom of Thailand since the start of the modern period. This facility was already the subject of an article that appeared in （issue no. 24 of the JACAR Newsletter). This time around, we would like to introduce the initiatives it has been undertaking to digitize its collection. Currently, the NAT has a digital archive system available for public access through its website. Once they have registered with the site, users can search for materials in the Archives’ collection on (note: only a portion of the collection can be searched). As a rule, the original copies of materials in the NAT collection are not available for viewing, so as a substitute work has been moving forward on creating microfilm and digital copies. NAT has been actively working in particular to digitize certain photographic materials unique to its collection that have been designated for inclusion in UNESCO’s Memory of the World registry. Users can register for use of the database online.

Digitization Initiatives in China

China's Anti-Japanese Wartime Literature Database（→DB Website）

　　This digital archive went online September 2018 and is operated by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Modern History. Although the name involves "Anti-Japanese” during the Sino-Japanese War, the archive actually publishes materials from other periods. It starts at the end of the 19th century—leading up to the conclusion of the Qing dynasty—and it finishes in 1949, at the foundation of the People's Republic of China. The database is rich in the variety of media it incorporates. You can search and peruse archival documents, books, newspapers, magazines, video, and even audio. You can search, browse, and download materials freely in 150 dpi. However, you must search with simplified Chinese characters.