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The card catalog of the National Library         Sri Lanka ISSN Center is at the National Library

The National Library of Sri Lanka was established in 1990, under the Sri Lanka National Library Services Board. Sri Lanka which gained its independence in 1948 has a long tradition of literary activities in its 25 centuries old known history.  The first national level library, in the modern time the Ceylon Oriental Library was established in 1870. After just seven years of existence it was amalgamated to the newly established Department of National Museum in 1877. The National Museum library later became the biggest library in the country with a collection of about one million items. The legal deposit legislation which enforced the printers and publishers to deposit their publications came in to being in the country in the 19th century. The Newspaper ordinance of 1839 and the Printers and Publishers ordinance of 1885 are the main such legislation. These publications were deposited with the government archivist. The extra copies were distributed in the National Museum Library, The British Museum Library, the University of Ceylon library which later became the Peradeniya University Library (1951) and the Sri Lanka National Library Services Board (SLNLSB) for the future national library (1976).  The main responsibilities of the SLNLSB established in 1970, were to advice and assist in the development of library services in Sri Lanka and to establish the National Library of Sri Lanka as the apex library in the country. Compared to most countries in the Asian region Sri Lanka was a late starter in establishing the National Library. The UNESCO sponsored National Library expert meeting held in Colombo in 1967 and its recommendations played an important part in establishing the SLNLSB and the National Library.

The National LibraryBuilding

The National Library Building

After the National Library Services Board was formed in 1970 it initiated work on establishing the National Library as a priority project. The SLNLSB was fortunate to secure a suitable land in the old racecourse premises facing lndependence Avenue in the heart of Colombo to construct the National Library. Besides providing 2 1/2 acres of prime land the Government with assistance from UNESCO also obtained the services of an architect for building design. The architect, Professor Michael Brawne from the University of Bath, United Kingdom designed the National Library building with assistance from architects attached to the Government Buildings Department. The building was completed in 1988 at a cost of Rs55 million. It comprises of five floors with a floor area of 11,600 square meters, which is sufficient for the National Library and for office space for the SLNLSB. The National Library building has facilities to store 500,000 books and other library items and can be expanded up to 1,000,000 items if required by using the office space of the SLNLSB. It a1so has three reading rooms with the capacity to seat 320 readers, a main lobby cum exhibition area, a medium sized auditorium for 125 People, a seminar room and a cafeteria.  The National Library Bookshop and extra store facilities were added to the original building during the last decade. The seminar room was redesigned to give it a modern look. Undoubtedly the auditorium was the most heavily used facility and a new auditorium with a seating capacity for 250 persons has been planned.

National LibraryLegislation

Serfing the Internet

The Ceylon National Library Services Board Act No.17 of l970 provided the legal base for the National Library at its initial period. It was apparent from the beginning that this was inadequate legislation for this purpose. The services of an international consultant were also obtained for this purpose. Mr.Stephen Parker, a well-known library consultant and the present Director General of FID Prepared the draft legislation with the assistance of a special committee. Hon Dr Richard Pathirana, Minister of Education submitted the draft legislation to Parliament in 1997 and it was approved in l998 as the National Library and Documentation Services Board Act No.51 of 1998.  The enacting of the new library legislation, a complex task, can be considered one of the most important achievements of the National Library in its first decade of existence. The new legislation basically provides a strong foundation for the National Library. The titles of the Board and the library have been changed to reflect the functions and the responsibilities of the institutions. While providing the legal base for the National Library to exist as a separate entity, the Act also modified the role of the parent body to suit present day requirements.

The LibraryCollection

Reading traditional ola leaf manuscript               The National Library Publication               School children at the National Library auditorium

Most of the old and well established national libraries house the main national collection of their respective countries. Since the National Library is a recent creation in Sri Lanka, the main national library collections are scattered in a number of older libraries such as the National Museum Library and the National Archives. As a result of the publications received under the legal deposit law and the agressive policy for acquisition fol1owed by the NLDC during the last decade, it possesses a comprehensive modern Sri Lankan collection, a representative collection of old national publications and some excellent basic reference tools.  The National Library does not intend collecting old publications that are already deposited in a number of major libraries in the country. While collecting comprehensive modern Sri Lankan collections and occasional rare materials the National Library is more than happy to let others be the custodians of national collections Which is undoubtedly an herculean task. The National Library will actively engage in bibliographic control and documentation activities and expect those who have the custody of national collections to do their utmost to protect the collections.  A number of organisations and individuals volunteered to deposit their important collections in the National Library after inspecting its facilities and understanding its mission. The Government Printing Department donated its entire gazette collection (from inception (1881) to date) which is an invaluable addition to the collections. The Department of External Resources donated copies of reports prepared by local and foreign consultants on almost all the development projects during the last few decades. The Drama Panel of the Arts Council has donated the drama manuscripts received by them during the past few years. Continuous offers are received from various sources for book donations but the National Library is not in a position to accept most of them as they do not comply with its acquisition policy.  About Rs6 million is spent annually to acquire library material for the National Library. This is augmented by publications received under the deposit system, publication assistance projects and standard numbering projects of the Board, gifts and exchanges. When purchasing library material attention is paid to collect foreign publications portaining to Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan rare books and basic reference material.  The National Library also houses a complete collection of newspapers published in the country since September 1976 and a micro film collection of certain newspapers prior to that. Other major collections of the National Library are periodicals, government publications, maps, library and information science, folklore, publications of a number of international organisations including the UNESCO, Asian Development Bank and personal collections of leading Sri Lankan academics. The complete collection of gazettes published from 1881 to date is one of the highlights of the collection.  In 1999 an agreement was reached with universities and other higher educational institutes in the country through the University Grants Commission facilitating the deposit of Ph.D. and M. Phil thesis in the National Library. The National Library makes a payment of Rs5,000 for a thesis and already a large number of academies have deposited their theses in the library.  (continue to next page)