PRAYAGRAJ, Feb. 21 -- The more than 250-page manuscript of the monumental Persian epic 'Shahnameh'-composed by poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 CE and comprising nearly 60,000 couplets chronicling Iran's ancient history-will soon be accessible to readers worldwide with just a click. Alongside it, several other rare works preserved in the 161-year-old State Public Library in Prayagraj-including the original 1795 manuscript of The Treatise on Mills, Selected Letters of Tipu Sultan (1811), Institute of Hindu Law (1796), and bound volumes of the Gazette of India and provincial gazettes dating back to the 19th and 18th centuries-are also set to be digitised and made available online.This move comes after the library's managing committee, chaired by Prayagraj divisional commissioner Saumya Agarwal, approved a series of key decisions. The committee cleared measures to operationalise and upgrade the library's digital repository, integrating it with the Government of India's One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS) initiative. The aim is to broaden public access to its collections, enhance digital infrastructure, boost revenue generation, and ensure the proper maintenance of the historic building. Under the approved plan, the library's digital repository will be freely accessible to the public, while only a nominal charge will be levied for downloading digital copies of manuscripts and rare newspapers. Officials said this will allow researchers worldwide to access valuable materials while also generating funds for their conservation and upkeep. According to Dr Gopal Mohan Shukla, librarian of the State Public Library-founded in 1864 within Chandrashekhar Azad Park-the collection houses over 1,500 original manuscripts and rare books, some dating back nearly a thousand years. He said the library is currently consulting the National Manuscript Mission (NMM) for guidelines to determine the terms under which these rare works can be shared via ONOS. Once the guidelines are received, the integration process will be finalised. The Government of India's ONOS initiative, launched on January 1, 2025, already offers free access to over 13,000 international research journals and articles from 30 major publishers to more than 6,300 government higher education institutions. The addition of the Prayagraj library's digital archive is expected to bring a valuable historical dimension to the programme. The State Public Library-one of Uttar Pradesh's oldest and the only Category 5 library in the state-has served as a key centre of learning for nearly 150 years. Its digital repository, developed under the Smart City Project at a cost of Rs.2.5 crore, preserves rare manuscripts and archival materials from the Mughal and British periods. Dr Shukla said that many manuscripts had become fragile over time, requiring meticulous conservation. The restoration and digitisation of more than 1,500 rare manuscripts were undertaken in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi, ensuring both their long-term preservation and digital accessibility....