Online Burma/Myanmar Library OBL

Overview

The Online Burma/Myanmar Library (OBL) is a non-profit, non-commercial online research library providing organized, in-depth access to information about Burma/Myanmar. It is a hybrid library-portal that combines materials hosted on its own servers with links to external sources, making it the largest single organized repository of Burma/Myanmar-related material on the internet.

History and Founding

OBL grew out of documentation on Burma/Myanmar provided from 1987 to the UN, ILO, and other international bodies by the Burma Peace Foundation. It was founded by David Arnott, who built the collection as a resource for scholars, diplomats, journalists, activists, and others engaged with Burma/Myanmar. The library serves both international users and those inside Burma/Myanmar who may have difficulty accessing balanced information.

Collections and Holdings

OBL holds approximately 50,000 links to documents, of which about a quarter are in Burmese, alongside materials in other languages of Burma/Myanmar. Content is organized under approximately 100 categories including Health, Land, Economy, Environment, Law and Constitution, Foreign Relations, History, and Oral History. Holdings include substantial archives, academic articles, periodicals, reports, books, videos, and links to many thousands of additional documents. Materials cover the Rohingya crisis extensively, ethnic minorities, human rights, politics, and the 2021 military coup and its aftermath. The library does not cover breaking news directly but links to over 100 news groups and individuals.

Access and Usage

OBL is freely accessible at burmalibrary.org without registration. The site provides both a full-text search engine and a database search, as well as an alphabetical list of subject categories. Content is available in English and Burmese, with growing coverage of other languages spoken in Burma/Myanmar including Pwo and S'Gaw Karen.