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| National Library and Documentation Services Board (Sri Lanka) | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Library and Documentation Services Board |
| Native name | ජාතික පුස්තකාල සහ ලේඛන සේවා මණ්ඩලය |
| Formation | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Region served | Sri Lanka |
| Leader title | Chairman |
National Library and Documentation Services Board (Sri Lanka) is the statutory agency responsible for national bibliography, library development, and documentary heritage in Sri Lanka. Established to coordinate public, academic, and special libraries, it interacts with institutions such as the Parliament of Sri Lanka, University of Colombo, National Museum of Colombo, and international bodies including UNESCO, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and Commonwealth of Learning. The Board supports preservation, cataloguing, and information services across provinces such as Western Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, and Southern Province, Sri Lanka.
The Board was created in the aftermath of policy debates involving figures from the Ministry of Education (Sri Lanka), advocates associated with Colombo Public Library, and academics linked to University of Peradeniya and University of Kelaniya. Early initiatives drew on models from the British Library, Library of Congress, and practices endorsed by UNESCO programmes. During the 1990s, the Board coordinated recovery activities following conflicts that affected cultural sites in areas like Vanni, Sri Lanka and engaged with heritage projects similar to those of the National Archives of Sri Lanka and the Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka. Partnerships with international donors echoed cooperative efforts established by World Bank and Asian Development Bank projects in South Asia.
Statutory authority derives from legislation enacted by the Parliament of Sri Lanka, aligning duties with national cultural policy instruments and statutory frameworks used by agencies such as the National Archives Act-style provisions and the Intellectual Property Act, Sri Lanka. Governance structures mirror boards found in entities like the Ceylon Insurance Company and oversight mechanisms used by the Public Service Commission (Sri Lanka). The Board reports to ministers who have also overseen portfolios held by leaders of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (Sri Lanka) and liaises with provincial councils such as the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council and Central Provincial Council.
The Board's internal divisions reflect functions practiced by national systems like the National Library of India, National Diet Library (Japan), and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Operational units include bibliographic control, preservation and conservation, training and development, and information technology aligned with practices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. The leadership structure features a Chairman and members appointed under statutes similar to appointment procedures seen in the Judicial Service Commission (Sri Lanka) and boards like the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Collections encompass monographs, serials, government publications, maps, and audiovisual materials comparable to holdings at the British Council libraries and the American Center Library (Colombo). Services include legal deposit coordination, interlibrary lending networks reminiscent of systems in the European Library consortium, reference and referral linking to repositories such as the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, and digital services paralleling portals from the Digital Public Library of America. The Board supports cataloguing standards used in institutions like the Library of Congress and engages in preservation techniques practiced at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Board produces national bibliographies and union catalogues akin to outputs from the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. It administers ISBN and ISSN coordination similar to agencies under the International ISBN Agency and International ISSN Centre. Documentation services support academic research at centers such as Peradeniya Medical Faculty, Open University of Sri Lanka, and technical repositories associated with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Cooperative metadata projects have affinities with initiatives by OCLC and standards promulgated by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
The Board implements training and accreditation programmes for personnel in public libraries, reflecting programs offered by Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO library education projects. Outreach includes mobile library schemes in rural districts like Ampara District and Monaragala District, youth literacy initiatives similar to campaigns by Save the Children and collaborations with cultural festivals such as Esala Perahera. It partners with provincial education authorities including the Ministry of Education (Sri Lanka) and civil society organisations like the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement to expand reading promotion and information literacy.
Headquartered in Colombo, the Board oversees regional service points and training centres modelled on facilities at institutions such as the National Library of New Zealand and the State Library of Victoria. Infrastructure projects have involved digitisation labs, climate-controlled repositories inspired by standards from the International Council on Archives and cooperative grants similar to projects funded by the Asian Development Bank and European Union. Emergency preparedness and disaster recovery planning follow protocols used by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and heritage response units like those affiliated with ICCROM.
Category:Libraries in Sri Lanka Category:Government agencies of Sri Lanka Category:National bibliographic agencies