Charles Manson (BF 64) speaks at US Library of Congress

Charles Manson (BF 64), whose biography of Karma Pakshi, Tibetan Mahasiddha was published in 2022, was recently invited to speak to specialist divisions of the US Library of Congress about their Tibetan collections. 

Extensive collections

The Asian and Middle Eastern (ASME) Division and the Asian Division of the Library collaborated last winter to host a book talk and a cataloging workshop featuring Charles, a specialist librarian at the British Library and Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.

The Library of Congress itself has more than 18,000 manuscripts in its Tibetan collection; both the talk and the workshop engendered on-site and online audiences to listen to what Charles had to say.

Above: Charles with (l-r) Anne Roddy, Jessalyn Zoom of ASME and (right) Susan Meinhelt of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress

After first discussing his book, the first-ever comprehensive English-language biography of Karma Pakshi, a pivotal historical figure in the development of Tibetan Buddhism, Charles led an ASME workshop discussing the particular and unique challenges of cataloging Tibetan-language materials.

Practical solutions

During the workshop, Charles introduced the Tibetan collections at the Bodleian and British libraries and spoke with Lobsang Tengye of the Library’s Middle East and South Asia Section and Brian Cheung and Yangyang Zeng of the China Section. The presenters received a number of questions about cataloging rare manuscripts, particularly from librarians participating online.

Cataloguing Tibetan manuscripts is a difficult process; the workshop examined the challenges in addition to brainstorming different techniques to prompt a number of solutions, the results of which, as Lobsang Tengye said, “will help to update cataloging rules and improve discovery for users”.

During his visit, Charles presented 92 records from the Library’s system which contained minor romanization errors, all of which have now been corrected, thus improving the quality of the Tibetan collection records in the Library for future generations.

Listen to Charles

If you would like to hear Charles discussing his book , you can do so here using the passcode Y3xbD?!G. Charles’ talk begins at approx 18.18 minutes into the recording.

About Charles

After Haileybury, Charles Manson became a master woodcarver before spending several years as a Buddhist monk and meditation retreatant. He later studied at Harvard University where he received a Masters in Theological Studies. He currently works as a librarian for the Tibetan Collections at the Bodleian Library (Oxford University) and the British Library in London. 

Please donate to The Haileybury Society

As a charity, The Haileybury Society relies on its income from membership fees, legacies and donations of all sizes to achieve our charitable aims, and to help fellow OHs of all ages. It is only through your help that we are able to do this; any donation, no matter its size, is always appreciated. Donate here

Search stories by category
archive of stories
Search stories by date
April 2023
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930