| Jaffna Public Library | |
|---|---|
 Jaffna Public Library | |
 | |
| 9°39′43.42″N 80°0′42.61″E / 9.6620611°N 80.0118361°E | |
| Location | Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
| Established | 1933 |
| Branches | 6[1] |
| Parent organization | Jaffna Municipal Council |
Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம்; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය) is located in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It is one of Jaffna's most notable landmarks, and is run by the Jaffna Municipal Council. The library was built in 1933 and burnt in 1981. During the early 1980s, it was one of the biggest libraries in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.[2][3] Over a million books burned in the 1981 arson attack. Some ancient Sinhala and Tamil books were never recovered. In 2001, rehabilitation of the library was completed, with new structures being built and new books received, although its old books and manuscripts were not replaced. It is Sri Lanka's second main public Library, only rivalled by Colombo Public Library[4]
The building's classical lines and beautiful proportions make it stand out architecturally. It contains lush gardens and has been modernized with new facilities such as free-wifi that was added in 2016[5][4]
- ^ "Jaffna Library". Archived from the original on 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ^ "Fire at Kandy public library". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-03-14.
- ^ Wilson, A. J. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, p. 125
- ^ a b "Up from the Ashes, a Public Library in Sri Lanka Welcomes New Readers". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
- ^ SureshikaThilakarathna. "Free Wi-Fi from today at 26 public locations in Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2017-01-09.