The National Library has six major divisions, namely, (i) Acquisition (ii) Reader Services (iii) National Bibliographic Services (iv) Documentation Centre (v) Conservation and Preservation and (vi) Information Technology. 

Acquisition Programme

The acquisition policy of the national library is to obtain copies of all publications published in the country, material on Sri Lanka published in foreign countries, material published by Sri Lankans in foreign countries, basic reference materials and library and information science publications. Three copies each from every publication pertaining to Sri Lanka are purchased. As mentioned earlier copies of the majority of local publication are received under the legal deposit system free of charge. Local publications are also acquired through various publication assistance projects of the NLDSB including the ISBN project. The library material exchange programme with a number of national libraries is also an important source of acquiring material. 

Reader Services

Both the card catalogue and computerised catalogue are available for readers to assist them in their search for material. Readers are not allowed to go to the stack area, but are provided with the required material on request. Inter library lending facilities are available to obtain material from other libraries both in and outside the country. Facilities are available to use microfilm, microfiche, CD-ROMs, etc. 

The information desk on the ground floor guides newcomers to the library and assists them to enroll either as temporary or permanent members. The three service counters located on the ground, first and second floors are the strategic centers of the Reader Services Division. The staff at these service counters assists users and complies with their numerous requests by providing the required library material and other library services. 

Each floor deals with different collections. The ground floor houses the basic reference collection, newspaper collection and periodical collection while the first floor has the main Sri Lankan collection, legal deposit collection, maps, thesis, palm leaves, IT material and Internet services and Government publications and the second floor has library and information science, UNESCO, gazette, folklore and report collections. Photocopy service is available at all three floors and the inter-library lending requests are dealt with at the first floor counter. 

The Reader Services Division is responsible for popularising the National Library among prospective users. A number of brochures explaining the resources and services of the library have been published and distributed. Regular advertisements are published in national newspapers and professional journals. Special lists giving details of reference tools of the library e.g. encyclopedias and dictionaries have been published. Content page service covering journals in social science, science and technology and library and information science fields is a regular feature. Conducted tours of the National Library are arranged on request. Book exhibitions are held in the exhibition area of the library regularly and these have become very popular. The monthly National Library lecture series attracts people from different backgrounds to the library. A large number of National Library publications ranging from the national bibliography to the revised edition of Pujavaliya, a well known ancient Sri Lankan classic, has helped the National Library be become one of the leading academic institutions in the country. 

Bibliographic Services

The Sri Lanka National Bibliography (SLNB) published monthly contains details of recent Sri Lankan publications. The bibliographic details of each publication are given in the bibliography which also contains indices for author, title, series and subject. The SLNB because of its comprehensive coverage, scientific presentation and Up to date nature is considered one of the best national bibliographies in the Asia and Oceania region. The SLNB started at the Department of National Archives in 1962 was transferred to the SLNLSB in 1976. The annual cumilation volume is also available. 

The Periodical Article Index, a quarterly publication, provides detailed information on periodicals published in the country and bibliographic details of each article. This is a valuable source of information for researchers as the periodical articles contain recent research findings and current materials. The Periodical Article Index also carries details of articles on Sri Lanka and those authored by Sri Lankans in foreign journals to some extent. 

The Retrospective National Bibliography covers those publications printed prior to the commencement of the National Bibliography in 1963. The first volume covering the period 1737 (the year in which printing was introduced to the country) to 1884 was published in 1997 and the second volume covering the period 1885-1900 has just been published. Compilation of the retrospective national bibliography is a strenuous and challenging task as the publications are scattered in a number of institutions that are not easily accessible and some of the publications are deteriorated. However, the National Library is justifiably proud of being able to publish the retrospective national bibliography giving bibliographic details of the publications in the first 163-year period since the introduction of printing to the country. 

The Children's Bibliography, an annual publication, provides details of all children's books published in the country. There are also a number of other bibliographies covering various fields including Sinhalese novels of the last 100 years, translations of the past 50 years and various special topics. 

Documentation Services

The compilation of the National Union Catalogue is a unique project providing bibliographic details of the holdings of 54 major libraries in Sri Lanka. Users of the National Library can check for required library material from the union catalogue and obtain them to the National Library for reference purposes through inter library loan facilities. 

Compilation of the newspaper article index and conference index enables researchers to source required material in an easy manner. Researchers and librarians have continuously praised these indexing projects as being very useful tools for information retrieval. The directories of government publications, social scientists in Sri Lanka, libraries and documentation centres and publishers are also published and regularly updated by thc National Library. 

The National Library is the national centre for International Standard Book Number (ISBN), International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) and International Standard Music Number (ISMN) projects. These numbers are provided to respective publishers free of charge and it helps the publications and the authors to have an international recognition. The standard numbering projects and other publication assistance projects make it the centre of publishing activities in the country. Recently the activities of these centres were extended beyond the shores of Sri Lanka. The National Library has been requested to assist Bhutan to establish its ISBN centre and the necessary training and guidelines were provided to an officer of the Bhutanese government. 

The Documentation Division also coordinates activities of library networks in the library and information field in Sri Lanka. Presently a number of library networks are in operation in the fields of science and technology, agriculture, health, education, culture and social science. These networks are organised by various institutions in the respective fields which act as the nodule centre of the network. While coordinating the activities the National Library also assists the networks whenever necessary. It also publishes the Natnet Lanka newsletter that carries news on new projects, services and other information pertaining to the networks. 

Conservation and Preservation Activities

Conservation of books and other library material is one of the major challenges faced by librarians today. The problem is aggravated in tropical countries like Sri Lanka where basic problems of inferior quality of printing paper, polluted air, dust and other micro organism, lack of suitable accommodation and trained staff exist. The Conservation Division of the National Library takes various steps to meet this challenge. The National Library collection is stored in an enclosed and air-conditioned area with humidity control facilities and is cleaned and inspected regularly for dust and insects. Newly acquired old book collections are fumigated before they are deposited using both thymol and pospene fumigation methods. Books are bound at the bindery as a precautionary measure. De-acidification and paper restoring facilities are also available at the conservation centre. A part of the newspaper collection has been microfilmed. As a result the National Library collection has been receiving praises from both local and international visitors. The National Library assists other libraries in the country by providing technical assistance, advice, training and material in the conservation field. 

InformationTechnology Activities

The Information Technology Division of the National Library is extremely active in a number of projects in the information technology field. It helps to maintain and regularly update the National Library web site (http://www.slt.lk/nlib). It also took the initiative to automate a number of activities in the National Library and presently the entire National Library catalogue and part of the union catalogue are computerised. All sections of the library are linked through a local area network (LAN). Regular training programmes are conducted for staff to improve IT awareness. Readers are able to seek assistance for surfing the Internet and using CD-ROMs and the computerised catalogue. The National Library is eagerly waiting to link up with other major libraries in the country and develop a comprehensive national online database. Unfortunately library automation has been very slow in Sri Lanka and even the major libraries make only halfhearted attempts to embrace the new technology. 

Infrastructure Development

Favourable developments, which have a positive effect on modernising and improving library services, have been occurring outside the library field. During the last decade the Government has invested heavily on expanding and modernising telecommunication infrastructure in Sri Lanka. Both the Government and the private sector have launched a number of programmes in computer and information technology field through which the usage of IT has been widespread in many crucial sectors. Computers have been introduced to schools and computer education facilities are available in both public and private sector educational institutions. The Interact usage is becoming popular by day and Internet service providers are looking forward to a competitive and lucrative market. Education reforms presently being implemented emphasise on school libraries and also on inculcating information skills among school children. The market economy demands youth with high IT skills. Rural electrification schemes enable new technology to reach all parts of the country. 

The NLDC is eagerly looking forward to expand and improve its services in the years to come.