JEDDAH: The King Abdul Aziz Center (Darat) will discuss later this month the “Unified local index of manuscripts project”, being prepared by the Saudi Digital History Center, known formerly as the Center to Develop, Preserve and Organize Saudi Arabia's Historical Resources. The Darat discussions are aimed at generating a clear vision and a comprehensive strategy for the project's implementation following approval from its Board of Directors headed by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz. Abdullah Al-Mubriz, Director of the Center, said the meeting on April 17 in Riyadh will be attended by an elite group of manuscript and indexing specialists, in addition to the members of the board and the center's consultative board. “The goal of the discussion is to obtain opinions on suitable ways to establish the index with previous experiences taken into consideration,” Al-Mubriz elaborated. Possible obstructions to the project will also be discussed. “There will also be a call made to local bodies that have manuscripts to participate in this scientific project to count and preserve local manuscripts, facilitate researchers' access, reduce the costs of organization and technical treatment, implement the latest practices and technologies related to manuscript technical treatment, and improve the level of indexing at bodies that do not have sufficient capabilities,” said Al
