Digital Books, Lao textiles

Given that the books in question are all "in the public domain" it
would indeed be possible for me to digitize them and post them to the
web if/when I am in Sri Lanka.  For an example of a book that I have
already managed to get onto the web in this form, take a glance at
_The Cambodian System of Writing_, posted here:

http://www.pratyeka.org/csw/

This digital textbook is read by 800+ people per week --probably
indicating that a fair number of people in Cambodia are using the
"book" at public internet terminals (i.e., don't have a computer at
home) and downloading the file again each time they use it.  For the
technically minded: the actual number of "hits" per week is above
eight thousand --my estimate assumes that only one in ten is an actual
reader.

As I'm sure Dr. Pind will have assumed: Laotian textiles and silks are
plentiful and cheap here in Lao itself.  A very high-end, "modern
aesthetic" silk scarf will be about US$25; more traditional silk wares
can be $5 or less --and the latter are in some ways more desirable as
they are not "made for export".  Lao cotton works are also very
impressive (traditional indigo, etc.) and the most ostentatious part
of the textile trade here are the wall hangings (made for display)
--their style and content varies considerably by tribe of origin
(although, in this category too, there are works made for Western
tastes).

I've often wondered why Lao textiles have merited so little attention
in Textile Museums (relative to, e.g., tribal textiles from the
smaller islands of Japan) --but this, too, probably reflects the
seeming remoteness of Lao after the war.

E.M.