Originally founded in Sài Gòn as the Mission archéologique d'Indochine (1898), the École Française d’extrême-orient (EFEO) was officially established in Hà Nội in 1901. The original tasks of EFEO included the archaeological exploration of French Indochina, the conservation of its monuments, the collection of manuscripts, and research into the region's linguistic heritage. In addition, EFEO set out to study the history of the major Asian civilisations from India to Japan. In time the École Française d’extrême-orient expanded its installations, beginning with the creation of a library and a museum in Hà Nội and later taking on responsibility for the restoration of the monuments in neighbouring Cambodia. By the 1920s the EFEO library in Hà Nội included 25,000 volumes in English, 4,000 in Vietnamese and 9,500 in Japanese, plus 1,600 maps and manuscripts in various Asian languages; pride of place, however, was given to a priceless collection of some 17,000 chữ Hán (classical Han Chinese) and chữ nôm documents. After the closure of EFEO's Hà Nội office in 1957 this important collection fell under the authority of the Library of Social Sciences (established in 1960 under the National Committee for Social Sciences), which is now part of the Institute of Social Sciences Information of the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences. During the 1960s the bulk of the Hán-Nôm collection was moved to the Institute of History but since the establishment of the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies in 1979 the documents have been found a permanent home there. Due to political events EFEO was obliged to leave Hà Nội in 1957 and Cambodia in 1972. However, by the time EFEO's headquarters was moved to the Maison d'Asie in Paris in 1968, its activities had already begun to focus on other regions of Asia; a permanent EFEO Centre for History and Indology had been set up in Pondicherry, India in 1955. Since the late 1950s too, a permanent EFEO centre in Jakarta had provided a base for specialists in the fields of archaeology and religious epigraphy. The Hobogirin Institute, housed at the great Zen temple Shokkokuji in Kyoto, was also set up in 1968 as a centre for the study of the history of Buddhism. A research centre was subsequently opened in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand for the study of early Buddhist texts from that region, followed by other research installations in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Taipei (Taiwan) and Poona (India). During the early 1990s EFEO renewed its presence in the former territories of Indochina - the Hà Nội office reopened in 1993. EFEO is above all a centre for research into the civilisations of South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia. It comprises some 30 Asianists, representing the academic disciplines of Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, History, History of Art, Linguistics, Philology and Epigraphy. EFEO remains attached to its traditional emphasis on the study of primary sources – archaeological, written and oral – and requires of its members a knowledge of the relevant written and spoken languages. Members of EFEO based in the centres abroad work within the framework of agreements on scholarly co-operation with local institutions, including ministries, universities and research centres. They take part in the training of young researchers in the countries concerned and in exchanges with academics and specialists in the respective fields. EFEO organises international meetings of scholars and symposia and workshops in its research areas. Finally, it publishes the writings of its members and assists in the publication of other academic work. EFEO pursues a long-standing co-operation with the Fourth and Fifth Sections of the École pratique des hautes études (History and Philology and Religious Studies, respectively), the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), some French universities (Paris III, Paris IV, Paris VII and others) and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). It supervises doctoral students and welcomes researchers for periods of training in the EFEO centres abroad. The majority of EFEO members are affiliated to research projects of the CNRS and teach in universities in France and abroad. EFEO maintains co-operative programmes with European and especially Asian universities and research centres, including Sophia University in Tokyo, the Academia Sinica in Taipei, the Chinese University in Hong Kong, Silpakorn University in Bangkok, the National Institute of Archaeological Research in Jakarta and Deccan College of the University of Poona. These programmes comprise exchange in the co-financing of research projects, and specialised courses offered by EFEO members. A close collaboration with the Department of Scientific, Cultural and Technological Relations of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with UNESCO has enabled EFEO to undertake certain costly operations, such as the resumption of archaelogical work at Angkor. EFEO publishes a variety of books and periodicals on Asian studies. Its Paris headquarters incorporates a Library of Asian Studies which comprises some 60,000 volumes and more than 1,000 periodical titles, including 350 active journals. This Library also preserves a unique collection of 159,000 photographic documents, mostly concerning former French Indochina, especially the monuments of Angkor; a rich collection of some 2,000 manuscripts on various media, of which two-thirds are in numerous Asian languages; and a large collection of rubbings, maps, and plans, as well as audio-visual materials and objects (bronzes, coins, etc). Continuously expanded through acquisitions exchanges and gifts, the Library represents a major resource in France and in Europe. The Library has published and diffuses catalogues of some of its collections: Indonesia (with supplement), Việt Nam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Tibet. A catalogue of its holdings in Pali manuscripts has also been published. Upon completion of the library's ongoing computerisation, its catalogues will be accessible through French and international networks.