Assamese Books to Get a Unique Number for Easy Access

* AXX to issue the number on the line of ISBN

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Sept 16: Finding the details of a book in Assamese or any book written on Assam will no longer be a tough job. It will just be done at the click of a mouse.

The Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX) has decided to issue a unique number to all books published in Assamese on the line of International Standard Book Number (ISBN).

A recent executive meeting of the AXX, chaired by its president Paramananda Rajbongshi, decided to issue Axom Xahitya Xabha Book Number to the books published in Assamese. The number will also be allotted to books on Assam in other languages such as English, Hindi, Bengali and Bodo.

As per the AXX’s plan, the entire exercise will involve nearly 50,000 members of the Xabha. A catalogue will be published with the names of all books with Axom Xahitya Xabha Book Number. A member of the executive committee of AXX told The Sentinel that the exercise will help keep a record of books in Assamese and on Assam in a chronological order.

“Now there is a chaos with no record of the number of books published in Assam or in Assamese. With introduction of the Axom Xahitya Xabha Book Number, bibliophiles will have a clear idea about the number of books published in Assamese. It will be easier for bibliophiles to search books on Assam published in English, Hindi, Bengali and Bodo,” the member said.

The AXX has formed a committee to introduce the unique number. It has also sought suggestions from the people of the State to launch the project successfully.

On other hand, Aloka Buragohain, retired professor of the library science department of Gauhati University, who had taken up a project under Sahitya Akademi to publish the Assamese section of the National Bibliography of Indian Literature, has made significant achievements. Under the project, Buragohain has made the bibliography of books published between 1954 and 2000 on Assamese literature and topics related to Assamese literature. She found that around 5,000 such books were published during the period.