Colombo National Museum, Colombo 07.
Library Entrance from Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha
011 2695366, 011 2694767
www.museum.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_divisions&task=onedivision&id=13&Itemid=97&lang=en
Open Monday to Saturday , 8.30 am to 5.00 pm
The Colombo National Museum Library was established in January, 1877 and served as a legal deposit library until the mid-20th century.
The collection is the largest in the world for books, pamphlets and journals on Sri Lanka published when the island was under British colonial rule (1796-1948). It also holds more recent publications and has coverage of other parts of Asia. Special holdings include government publications, maps, drawings, stamps and postcards. The very extensive collection of rare Sinhala and Tamil pamphlets from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is unique. The library also holds unpublished special collections, including palm leaf manuscripts.
- Reference Only.
- No computer access.
- Letter of introduction preferable.
- Membership forms available, but usage without membership permitted.
- Index card catalogue (Sinhala and English).
- No computer access or wifi.
- Library patrons may take photographs; photocopying service available.
- Newspaper clipping service.
- Canteen and coffee shop within National Museum premises.
- Ask for material beyond the index card catalogue.
- The reading room has old-world charm.
Collection strengths: Humanities, Social Sciences, History
