Delegates address the 62nd All India Annual Museum Conference in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

The 62nd All India Museum Annual Conference concluded at Patna Museum on Sunday.

Research papers were presented and issues related to technical upgrade of museums were discussed during the three-day seminar.

On Sunday, former director of National Museum, New Delhi, S.P. Singh, presented a paper on “National Conservation Policy for Manuscripts”.

“There are nearly one crore manuscripts in the country. These manuscripts contain information on history of India in various streams like art, culture, science and mathematics among others. However, with the passage of time and because of neglect, these manuscripts are on the verge of extinction. Most museums are not in good condition and there is a common issue of employee crunch,” Singh said.

He added: “Though books in modern times, including digital ones, are highly informative, there is also a possibility of these files getting corrupt but ancient manuscripts can survive for longer period. It is important to conserve them.”

Patna Museum additional director JPN Singh and senior technical officer A. Mahajan presented a paper on “Technical Upgrade and Scope of Regional and Local Museums in Bihar”.

“The district museums were developed on the model of Patna Museum. However, these should have been developed on the characteristic features of the place. For instance, Buxar Museum could be developed on the theme of terracotta paintings,” said Mahajan.