Monday 18 May, 14:00 – 15:00 (BST), 15:00 – 16:00 (CEST/SAST), 16:00 – 17:00 (EEST), 06:00 – 07:00 (PDT), 09:00 – 10:00 (EDT), 21:00 – 22:00 (AWST/CST), 23:00 – 00:00 (AEST)

This paper introduces an ongoing collaborative project between Manchester’s Sikh community and the University of Manchester Library (UML). The paper reflects on what it means to care for a cultural treasure that is also understood as a living being, and how establishing dialogue with communities is crucial to framing decolonial practice with library collections.

UML has in its collections one of the oldest known copies of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, one of the most sacred scriptures in the Shiki faith. The copy currently residing at the Rylands can trace its history back to 21 February 1849, when it was ‘wrested out of the hands of a Sikh Priest at the battle of Guzerat by an Officer of the 52nd Bengal Native Infantry’*  It is regarded by Sikhs as the embodiment of the eleventh Guru and revered as a living person, as a result there are many acts of respect that must be considered when even consulting the text. Since 2021, UML has worked closely with the Sikh community in Manchester to conserve, digitise and respectfully care for the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. As well as this, UML have digitised other manuscripts relating to Sikh heritage in the collections and have worked with the community to digitise some of their personal material, adding to the rich history of Sikhi in Manchester. The manuscript has also been taken into the community and used during Vaisakhi festivities at a Manchester Gurdwara.

This is the first attempted decolonial act that the Rylands has undertaken. It has not been without its challenges and we are very much at the beginning of addressing colonial collections at UML. This paper will look at the work undertaken, reflect on our learning and consider future possibilities for decolonising the library.

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Gurtek Singh is an honorary research fellow at the John Rylands Research Institute and works in Education and Public Relations. Apart from having a seat on the Council of Five Manchester Gurdwaras, which manages community relations and events, he has worked on various decolonisation projects with the University of Manchester over the last three years. Notable projects include Sikhs in the City, co-curating the ongoing Splendours of the Sikh Raj : Arms and Armour exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery, the Manchester Sikh Digital Heritage Exhibition, and community engagement with sensitive items of Sikh heritage. Gurtek is currently leading a project to exhibit historical items in community spaces.

Jamie Robinson manages the Rylands Heritage Imaging Lab based in the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester. Working in the cultural heritage sector for over 19 years, he has wide experience digitising heritage material and has carried out many projects within the university as well as across a variety of UK institutions and further afield.