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Three-Day Workshop
Chennai: The three-day workshop titled "Integrating Classical Tamil with Libraries through Artificial Intelligence," organized by the Classical Tamil Digital Library, commenced on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. The workshop was designed to provide practical training to librarians on the use of artificial intelligence tools related to library sciences. At the inaugural ceremony, Programme Officer Mr. T. Senthilkumar, who served as the co-coordinator, delivered the welcome address. The Finance Officer of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil presided over the inauguration. Dr. S. Srinivasaraghavan, Professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli — a distinguished scholar in the field of library science — delivered the special address. In his address, Professor Dr. S. Srinivasaraghavan elaborated on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is applied in libraries and information science, and particularly emphasized its crucial role in research on Tamil language and traditional manuscripts. He stated that AI serves as a bridge to provide equal access to knowledge regardless of language, location, or economic status. During the first session of the workshop, trainer Dr. S. Srinivasaraghavan highlighted the historical footprints of libraries and discussed how handwritten manuscripts in Tamil — a language with a complex grammatical structure and rich vocabulary — can be converted into machine-readable text through Optical Character Recognition (OCR). He also demonstrated Tamil language learning tools such as Maya AI, Talkpal AI, Tamil AI, Talkio AI, and YesChat AI. Various AI tools applicable in libraries were explained, including natural language query understanding, improved search and retrieval, and multilingual access. In the second session, trainer Dr. C.V. Kokilavani provided hands-on training on how librarians can create chatbots. She gave a practical demonstration on how librarians can build chatbots using AI tools such as 'RASA', 'Dialogflow', and 'Huggingface', along with programming tools like Python: NLTK, SpaCy, Transformer, and rasa_nlu. Following this, Programme Officer Mr. Murugaswaminathan, the co-coordinator of the workshop, delivered the vote of thanks. At the closing ceremony of the three-day workshop on integrating Classical Tamil with Libraries through Artificial Intelligence — organized by the Classical Tamil Digital Library from September 2, 2025 to September 4, 2025 — Professor Dr. R. Chandrasekaran, Director of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, presided. Registrar Dr. Re. Bhuvaneshwari delivered the introductory address. Speaking at the valedictory function, Director Dr. R. Chandrasekaran stated that AI must be integrated into libraries to meet modern information needs. He emphasized that through AI, OCR, and NLP technologies, old books can be digitized and automatically classified; 24-hour AI chatbots can be deployed to offer user assistance services; and books in multiple languages can be translated through AI, making library resources more accessible to multilingual communities. Following this, Workshop Coordinator Programme Officer Mr. T. Senthilkumar delivered the vote of thanks. Prior to this, certificates were distributed to all participants of the workshop. The workshop concluded successfully.
Two-Day Workshop for Teachers
Chennai: The two-day workshop for teachers with speech and hearing impairments — organized by the Classical Tamil Digital Library — commenced on August 29, 2025 and concluded on August 30, 2025. The workshop provided training to teachers on how to effectively use artificial intelligence tools for the benefit of students. In the first session of the second day of the workshop, trainer Mr. G. Kannan provided practical training on how to create mobile applications using AI tools such as Canva and Kodular, which are useful for teachers. In the second session, trainer Ms. P. Malathi provided training on what artificial intelligence means for teachers, starting from that concept, and then on how teachers should use AI tools such as Speechnotes, Otter, Magic School, Cboard, and Veed. Following this, trainer Ms. C.V. Kokilavani delivered a detailed lecture and practical training session on special AI tools (chatbots) for children with disabilities, and on how teachers can create and use them. Subsequently, certificates were distributed to all teachers who participated in the workshop by the Finance Officer of the Central Institute for Classical Tamil and Remembrance Research. Following this, Programme Officer Mr. T. Senthilkumar delivered the vote of thanks. The workshop concluded successfully.
Classical Tamil in the World of Artificial Intelligence
A Seven-Day Workshop on Classical Tamil in the World of Artificial Intelligence.