Libraries Need Urgent buttistance

Sri Lankan Libraries Need Urgent buttistance W.A.Abeysinghe, Chairman National Library and Documentation Services Board, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka plunged in to crisis as giant tidal waves lashed the southern, northern, and eastern coasts of the country causing over 20,000 rests and mbuttive lost of property. The sudden rise in sea-level, a phenomenon known as Tsunami, had been unleashed by a mbuttive earthquake measured at 8.9 Richter scale, near northern Sumatra, Indonesia at 6.58 a.m. (Sri Lankan time) on Sunday 26th December 2004. According to the US Geological survey this was the fifth largest quake for a century and the biggest for 40 years. A wall of water as high as 50 feet triggered by the earthquake hit the Sri Lankan coast around 9.45 a.m. (Sri Lankan time). In some areas in Sri Lanka the person waves had traveled as far as 5 kilometers inland and sucked in almost every thing standing in its way. It is estimated that over one million people in the country have been affected by this phenomenal tragedy. Amidst this catastrophe a large number of school libraries, community libraries, children libraries, public libraries, libraries belong to religious insbreastutions and a large number of private-home libraries in the affected areas have either been completely destroyed or severely affected.

In this hour of calamity the National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) of Sri Lanka seeks buttistance from the international community to reconstruct-repair the damaged libraries and the restoration of the damaged books and other library material. According to the preliminary estimates the damage to the buildings and to the other infrastructure facilities is huge and the donations in the form of either library material or financial buttistance are sought from the international library community. Monetary donations can be sent to the NLDSB account no. 00251620073963 at the Peoples Bank, Park Street Branch, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Further details please. contact Upali Amarasiri, Director General, NLDSB, 14, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. Sri Lanka. Website www.natlib.lk , www.lankapage.com, thanks in advance for your support.

W.A.Abeysinghe, Chairman National Library and Documentation Services Board, Sri Lanka

Upali Amarasiri Director General National Library and Documentation Centre and National library and Documentation Services Board, Sri Lanka