Projects

This collaborative project with the National Library Board of Singapore digitised materials in the British Library of interest to Singapore.

Published date:

21 June 2021

About the project

In 2013, through the generous support of William and Judith Bollinger, the British Library embarked upon a five-year project, in collaboration with the National Library Board of Singapore, to digitise materials in the British Library of interest to Singapore. The project initially focussed on Malay manuscripts, early maps of Singapore, and archival papers of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who had founded a British trading settlement in Singapore in 1819. The project later also encompassed Bugis manuscripts, reflecting the cultural heritage of a distinctive community in Singapore, and Qur’an manuscripts from Southeast Asia. The digitised materials are accessible through the British Library's Digitised Manuscripts and the National Library of Singapore's BookSG.

What has been digitised?

• The complete collection of about 120 Malay manuscripts held in the British Library. Many of these Malay manuscripts were displayed in the National Library of Singapore’s exhibition Tales of the Malay World in 2017.   
• About 250 early maps and charts featuring Singapore, ranging from the late 15th century to the early 20th century, including from the Topographical Collection of George III.
• 27 volumes of papers relating to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles from the India Office Private Papers which had been copyright-cleared for online publication, including Raffles’s own correspondence, notes and observations.
• The complete collection of 34 Bugis and Makasar manuscripts in the British Library, dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries.
• The British Library’s small collection of eight Qur’an manuscripts from Southeast Asia.