Universities' Central Library Dr. Thaw Kaung Collection UCL Myanmar

History and Founding

The Dr. Thaw Kaung Collection is a dedicated digital collection within the Institutional Repository of the Universities' Central Library (UCL) of Myanmar, hosted at uclmyanmar.org. Dr. U Thaw Kaung is one of Myanmar's most distinguished scholars, having served as UCL's chief librarian from 1969 to 1997. He is a renowned authority on Myanmar history, literature, and bibliography. The UCL itself was established in 1929 as the University of Rangoon Library and was renamed the Universities' Central Library in 1964 under the Department of Higher Education. The current UCL building was completed in 1980.

Collections and Holdings

The Dr. Thaw Kaung Collection gathers Dr. Thaw Kaung's scholarly writings and publications, organized into major thematic categories. These include: Myanmar history topics such as Ayedawbon Kyan chronicles, records of Burmese kings and their campaigns, palm-leaf manuscript records, and Penang-Myanmar relations from the 19th to 20th centuries; studies of Myanmar literature, manuscripts, and libraries; bibliographic and library science contributions; and comparative studies of Myanmar with neighboring countries and regions. The collection serves as a resource for researchers in Myanmar studies, Southeast Asian history, and library and information science. It is published freely online as part of UCL's digitization efforts.

Access and Usage

The Dr. Thaw Kaung Collection is freely accessible online through the UCL Institutional Repository at uclmyanmar.org/institutional-repository/u-thaw-kaung-collection/. No registration is required. The broader UCL Institutional Repository also includes the Dr. Than Tun Collection and the Dr. Htin Aung Collection.