The Colombo Plan Library was officially opened by the President of the Colombo Plan Council, H.E. Patricia A. Butenis, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives on 20 January 2010.
The Colombo Plan Library was established with the view to provide a depository of all Colombo Plan documents and publications, some of which have high historical value and which could be valuable reference materials. There is a collection of more than 2,500 books including a complete set of all Colombo Plan publications and reports dating from the time of its inception in 1950. This collection would be irreplaceable and not available anywhere else in the world. These documents would provide useful reference to researchers, students and the general public who wish to study the impact of the Colombo Plan in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the library collection, there are also publications on a wide range of subjects such as economics, statistics, social science, management, illicit drugs, health, agriculture, literature and publications of other international and regional organizations as well as general information on the Colombo Plan member countries. Current periodicals and journals on development as well as local news papers are also available. Computer facility is available to enable the public can view video tape, VCDs on Colombo Plan activities and the multi-cultural aspects of member countries.
The Colombo Plan Library has been digitized and can be accessed through the Colombo Plan website. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Colombo Plan welcomes student visits from schools/institutions to learn more about the Colombo Plan and its achievements. The Colombo Plan Library is linked with the National Library of Sri Lanka as a Union Catalog together with 77 libraries in Sri Lanka.
The library services are provided free-of-charge. It is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.15 pm. The Librarian, Ms. Soma de Silva can be contacted through e-mail: soma[dot]desilva[at]colomboplan[dot]org or phone: +94 11 2684188, Ext. 136.
