Divinity Library Special Collections

Himalayan Mission Archive Collection

 
The Himalayan Mission Archive Collection at the Yale Divinity Library was formed in 2008 when the archives of four organizations and their umbrella association were transferred to Yale from the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. They are included in the following collections:
 
The Himalayan Archives Association was formed to coordinate care for the archives of four organizations that had been deposited at the University of Edinburgh in the early 1990s. In 2007 when space constraints required the removal of the archives from the University of Edinburgh, the Yale Divinity School Library offered to provide a home for them and the records were received by Yale in 2008.
 
Except for files that have been designated as "Restricted" the archival records are open to qualified researchers. Some files are available in digital format. Please contact the Divinity Library for more information.
  • The Himalayan Collection Pamphlets and Reports (RG 211) includes printed material that was housed at the headquarters library of the Himalayan Archives Association in Edinburgh.
    Book-length works that were in the Himalayan Archives Association library have been added to the Divinity Library's cataloged collection. The books are classified with a local call number system beginning with HC000001. The collection of more than 180 published works can be browsed online via the Orbis "Local call number" search option.
     
  • The United Mission to Nepal (RG 212) is a Christian NGO working exclusively in Nepal since 1954 . The UMN has sought to bring medical services, education, skills training, engineering, industry, hydro power development, agriculture and rural development to Nepal, mainly in the central and western development regions of the country. (107 linear ft.)
    Portions of the UMN archive are available in digital format, for example, Annual Reports and UMNews. Consult with the Special Collections Librarian regarding additional files available in digital format.
  • The Central Asia Fellowship (RG213) was established in 1989 by Christian mission organizations, churches, and individuals coming together to form a network and a resource organization in order to reach Tibetan Buddhist peoples in Bhutan, China, the Commonwealth of Independent States (Russian republics), India, Mongolia, and Nepal.These archives are open to qualified researchers only with written consent from the CAF and only a partial finding aid is posted online. (8 linear ft.)
  • The International Nepal Fellowship (RG 214), formerly known as the Nepal Evangelistic Band, is a Christian international non-government organization working in Nepal. It helps people affected by tuberculosis, leprosy, disability, HIV / AIDS and drug abuse, facilitates development among poor communities, runs medical camps and provides medical training. (22 linear ft.)
  • The Nepal Church History Project (RG 215) began in 1985 as an initiative of local church leaders in Nepal to research and collect materials relevant to the history of Christianity among the Nepali peoples. The objective of the Project is to preserve, maintain and update a comprehensive, organized documentary record of the Nepali Church from its inception, and to make available documents and information as appropriate to researchers, students and other interested users. (30+ linear ft.)

Photographs from the Nepal Church History Project archives are available in digital format. Contact the Divinity Library

An additional related collection is the Gwen Coventry Papers (Record Group 241). Gwen Coventry was an Australian nurse, who worked as a Christian missionary for Regions Beyond Missionary Union and the United Mission to Nepal in northern India and Nepal between 1959 and 1980.
 
Yale can also provide access to a 2020 Ph.D. dissertation, "An Ethnography of the Tibetan Diaspora: A Multi-sited Missiological Study." Access must be approved by the author. Contact the Divinity Library to request.
 
For more information about using the Himalayan Mission Archives Collection, contact the Divinity Library.
Last modified: 
Friday, October 6, 2023 - 8:56am