Noolaham is the leading digital library project for publications and other documents related to communities in Sri Lanka and the diaspora that have historically employed Tamil as their familial language. Founded in 2005, the Noolaham Foundation has undertaken many special digitization initiatives over the years. Its collection now includes over 100,000 items, including books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts and more. The vast majority are in Tamil, but Noolaham has also expanded its scope with many English-language publications from Sri Lanka, with publication dates from the eighteenth-century to present. The collection ranges from classical pieces of Sri Lankan Tamil literature, such as Vaiyāpāṭal and the paḷḷu poems, to modern documents circulated in the last several decades, such as political tracts, memorial “flower” pamphlets, and programs distributed during temple or school festivals.
Noolaham also has many special collections, including archives of Caste, Jaffna Newspapers, Kilinochchi, Sri Lankan Muslims, Sri Lankan Tamil Women, and Upcountry Tamils. Noolaham’s work with other organizations can also be accessed through this site. The
manuscripts digitized in conjunction with the British Library Endangered Archives Programme, for example, can be conveniently browsed by subject here. New documents are regularly uploaded to the site.
