As of 22 April 2009 this website is 'frozen' in time — see the current IFLA websites
This old website and all of its content will stay on as archive – http://archive.ifla.org
As of 22 April 2009 this website is 'frozen' in time — see the current IFLA websites
This old website and all of its content will stay on as archive – http://archive.ifla.org
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Sri Lankan Libraries Need Urgent Assistance28 December 2004 Sri Lanka plunged in to crisis as giant tidal waves lashed the southern, northern, and eastern coasts of the country causing over 12000 deaths and massive lost of property. The sudden rise in sea-level, a phenomenon known as tsunami, had been unleashed by a massive 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 killer waves had traveled as far as 5 kilometers inland and sucked in almost everything 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 institutions and a large number of private/home libraries in the affected areas either 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 assistance from the international community and especially from the IFLA members 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 assistance are sought from the international library community. Monetary donations can be sent to: For further details please contact: Many thanks in advance for your support! W.A.Abeysinghe Upali Amarasiri Links: | |
