These projects are intended to primarily serve scholars undertaking research relating to South Asia. We are anticipating the users to be advanced in their careers, for instance upper level undergraduates, graduate students and other researchers. Users will be geographically diverse- our target audience is not only North American and European but South Asian, East Asian and Central Asian as well. The community will be familiar with Southern Asia, English will not be the only language users will have-though the site directions will be in English, the resources do not have to be in English.

The resources in DSAL and DDSA are about/from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. The main focus of the project is information in the Humanities and Social Sciences. DSAL does not have a scientific focus. We feel that it is best to focus on particular genres of materials and develop a site deep and rich in resources.

DSAL resources focus on the British period, post-independence and some resources from the pre-modern era (the 'classical' age).

DSAL strives to include resources from all areas of the subcontinent, and from all language/ethnic groups.

DSAL does not wish to duplicate widely available resources. Items found on this site should be unique or hard to access.

DSAL and DDSA resources are all served over the internet, mostly web based. The current phase of the projects focuses on text, images, and cartographic information. At this point sound and video are not included. We are interested in displaying information in a variety of languages and scripts.

Members of the Selection Panels have been chosen for their expertise in particular areas of Southern Asian studies. Individual members are charged with locating interesting, unique and valuable resources. Resources that have been identified will go through a formal selection process. We anticipate the selection process to happen a few times a year, in batches.

The resources we plan to make available freely over the internet, should be evaluated against rigorous criteria. Resources should have intrinsic intellectual value

• Materials selected for the project should fall within the rubric of DSAL. They should provide significant value for research and education. Items put forth for consideration should be accompanied by a short (informal) statement of their significance.
• Materials should address the needs of the targeted user community. Notes and ideas on the format of proposed resources are welcome. For instance, would the resource be most helpful entered as text or is a scanned page image sufficient? Will the chosen digital format allow for new kinds of use? (sophisticated analysis? Improved resource discovery? Better examination of detail?)
• Conversion of resources to electronic format can be a costly undertaking. The proposed resources should benefit from this conversion- will this resource be more widely used if it is available on the web? Will the electronic version of the resource help to protect the original? Will students we exposed to materials that they normally would not have access to?
• Materials under consideration should not duplicate other efforts. If the resource has already been digitized there must be a very good reason for duplicated effort (the earlier version was not complete, the processing was faulty) Is there another body of work available that meets similar needs?

The advisory board, the project directors and the project manager will undertake the practical issues of acquisition, and processing. Materials chosen by the selection panel must go through a legal review. If the project personal are unable to secure property rights or permission to host a resource the material will not be included in DSAL.

Materials chosen by the selection panel must be reviewed by the project staff to ensure that DSAL and DDSA have the requisite equipment, software, trained staff, and financial support to fully process the resource.

DDSA and DSAL selection panels will both have website where selection panel members can suggest titles for consideration. A list will be compiled by project staff and will be maintained on said website. This will enable panelists to easily review proposed titles. A few times a year a conversation via group email will take place to discuss and rank the materials suggested. It is expected that all panel members contribute thoughtful comments to these discussions.