Information relevant to this study was extremely difficult to locate on the various databases.
The Sabinet Online database had no matches for the following terms: Neo-Hindu movements/
organisations; Aryan; reformed Hindu organisations; neo-Vedic organisations; Hindu movements and other similar terms. Although sixty matches were found for the term "Hindu", all the "hits" dealt with various aspects of Hindus and Hinduism. There were no titles that were relevant for this research.
Other terms that were used include: Hindutva, Aryanism, Hindu movements/organisations, Indian religions, Hindu culture. Vedantism. Hindu information/cultural/religious/social needs, Hindu heritage, Hindu community and South African Hindu groups.
In terms of the information and library studies field terms used included: minority groups, ethnic groups, immigrant needs, immigrant communities, multicultural communities,
multicultural libraries, cultural preservation and cultural diversity. These key words produced literature on a variety of subjects that were not relevant to this research. The following key words did produce "hits": Hindu diasporas and immigrant Hindu communities.
Other databases that were searched with no "hits" were: LISA; ISAP; SA Publications; IBSS;
1CTD; ERIC; NEXUS; ATLA (religious data): BDLS (British Library for Development Studies); NDLTD; UCTD; Current and completed research; SA Media; SA ePublications; SA Catalogue and EBSCO. The websites of IASL; ALA; 1FLA; and UNESCO were also searched.
Journals that were searched on-line included: Information for Social Change: Information Research: Intermedia: E-JASL: Ethnic and Racial Studies: Libraries and Culture: Library and Information Science Research: Innovation: Cape Librarian: Collection Management;
Journal of Academic Librarianship; and The International Information and Library Review.
Many other journals for humanities, social science, political studies, ethnic studies, and economics were also searched via the electronic databases.
In terms of the World Wide Web, the Asean News Network has a wealth of information about Hinduism, Hindu philosophy and prayer and everything one wishes to know about Sanatana Dharma, but nothing on reformed or neo-Hinduism. Even a search through Vidyanidhi - Digital Library and E-Scholarship Portal: Indian Theses Database did not produce any results.
The ScienceDirecf database which has various electronic journals was also searched. Various articles in The International Information and Library Review, available through ScienceDirect, about aspects of librarianship in Africa, Asia, Sri Lanka and even India were located but none on information provision by reformed Hindu organisations. The Emerald database yielded articles on and about the Indian LIS sector but again nothing on reformed Hindu organisations and their role in the provision of religious and cultural information.
Some of the journals accessed through this database were: Library Hi Tech News;
Interlending and Document Supply; Library Management; Librarian Career Development;
The Electronic Library; Library Review; Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems; International Journal of Social Economics; Strategy & Leadership.
The ProQuest database contained many references to books and articles on and about Hindus.
Hinduism, the Hindu Diaspora, and Hindus as ethnic and minority groups but none of the references were about reformed Hinduism. Many journal articles on libraries and librarianship were listed on the database, for example. "A discourse on promotion of reading habits in India" by Kanade and Chudamani which appeared in The International Information &
Library Review, 2006, Vol. 38, Issue 3.
Another database that was searched was Ingenta Connect, together with Inflibnet Chat and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professions but they contained no information that the researcher found useful. Biblioline and ICAAP were also searched.
Yet other databases searched were: University of Texas Press, Florida State University, Gigablast, Motilal Banarsidass (on-line Indian bookstore), Infolibrarian, American Library Directory, Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, Indology, The Haworth Press Inc., and Meriam Library Research Station. These databases did offer information on the Hindu religion and aspects of Hinduism but lacked information on Hindu libraries.
Indian authorities and researchers have combined their energies and knowledge to participate in the Universal Digital Library (UDL). The aim of the UDL is to "store in digital form all knowledge ever produced by the human race and to make this content available free of charge to be browsed and searched by anyone, anywhere and at any time" (Balakrishnan. et al., 2005). The Indian effort of the Universal Digital Library is known as Digital Library of India.
Upon completion it would be a useful database for Ayur Vedic medicine, palm leaf manuscripts and other aspects of Indian Life. The portal is slowly becoming "the gateway to Indian science, arts, culture, music, movies and much more" (Balakrishnan, 2005. p. 1204). A number of Indian languages will be accommodated on the database and, possibly with transliterations for researchers who are not familiar with the languages. Many traditions and localised information will become available for Indians all over the world. Parts of this digital library are up and running.
But alongside such critical developments such as those being undertaken in India, there are smaller less significant improvements taking place in temples outside of India. And although less significant than developments inside India, these developments are important for the
survival of the Hindu communities that are serviced by these temples. Many temples that are funded by NRIs (Non resident Indians) and immigrant communities outside of India have their own web sites, electronic magazines and temples activities that support these immigrant communities. An example of this would be The Bharatiya Temple of Metropolitan Detroit (Bharatiya Temple. 2007). The library, which is a part of the temple, offers "over 450 videos.
1300 books, 60 children's books, 350 DVDs, 200 audio cassettes and 100 audio CDs in several regional languages" (Bharatiya Temple. 2007). The library offers many other services and facilities.
Similarly, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre of Kansas City hosts a website that offers information on all temples in North America. This non-profit organisation also offers links to portals hosted and established in India (Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre of Kansas City.
2007). The Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam of Pearland. Texas also has a website which offers a number of links (Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam, 2007). While such sites and links are lacking in a South African scenario, Hindus living in Australia, Malayasia, Singapore, England and Canada benefit from similar portals of information.
Another venture from the West is the program of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh which hosts a mini directory of Hindu temples, addresses and contact details on their website (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, 2007). From this site the researcher was able to determine that a number of American Hindu temples have on-line magazines, for subscribers, as well as on-line archives of past publications. These magazines contain information relating to temple events, fund-raising efforts, testimonies of devotees, stories from religious scriptures and significance of religious celebrations and auspicious days. Examples of such sites are the Sri Shirdi Baba Temple, Pittsburgh (Sri Shirdi Baba Temple, 2004) and Sri Venkateswara Temple. Pittsburgh (Sri Venkateswara Temple, 2005). The previously mentioned temples are examples of the Hindu organisations, both Sanatanist as well as reformed Hindu movements, that are establishing libraries within their complexes as can be seen from the increasing number of websites for such organisations.
2.3. Kinds of Information Services: Literature in the field of community