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Experts throw the book at National Library refurbishment
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By Yoshitha Perera
The current National Library building poses major safety and conservation issues to its collection, and a lack of a reader-friendly environment, a committee reported.
The committee was appointed to provide advice and recommendations on the matters that should be taken into account when resuming renovation work.
The Sunday Times last month revealed that despite spending millions on the renovations that began in 2018, the National Library, which is overseen by the National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB), has remained uncompleted for several years.
The former Yahapalana government spent Rs. 252 million as a Budgetary allocation for the refurbishment of the National Library building and planned to complete it within eight months.
However, the former government failed to complete the work, and the premises have been in a dilapidated condition for the past three years.
According to the committee report, some book collections had not been preserved properly due to not following proper methods to control the temperature and relative humidity in the storage areas where the National Library collections are kept. The report also highlighted the difficulties readers and staff members face as a result of this situation.
Accordingly, the report claimed readers had been inconvenienced due to a lack of proper ventilation in the reading rooms on the ground, second, and fourth floors.
It further highlighted difficulties faced by the officers in the departments of the reader services, retrieval, bibliography, conservation, research and information technology due to the uncompleted work related to the renovation and refurbishment of the National Library building.
The committee was headed by Sri Lanka Archives’ former director Dr. Saroja Weththasinghe. The committee also included National Library Director Padma Bandaranayake, Conservation and Restoration Assistant Director Dr. Udaya Cabraal, Readers Services Division Assistant Director Nimmi Deshapriya, Recovery Division Assistant Director Anuradha Dasanayake, National Library Maintenance Officer Dhammika Gamage and National Library Welfare Association Chairman Priyantha Abegunawardana.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s State Engineering Corporation has recently completed a report on the remaining work for proposed renovations and refurbishment work of the National Library.
The report was initially handed over to the Education Ministry on November 9 and the Engineering Corporation has prepared an estimate for the remaining work.
Accordingly, National Library sources said the engineering corporation has estimated Rs. 300 million to complete the remaining work.
It was also informed that the Education Ministry was planning to forward a Cabinet paper to obtain funds for the remaining work.
However, the committee which was appointed to provide advice requested an inquiry from the Education Ministry with regard to the non-completion of the National Library refurbishment work.
In 2017, the former ‘Yahapalana’ Government provided a budgetary allocation of Rs. 500 million for upgrading the National Library and the tender was given to a private contractor named SMA Constructions under the ‘Design and Build’ method.
According to the details received by the National Budget Department. the total value of the tender was Rs. 297 million and the contractor had not submitted a main breakdown of the different tasks completed by it during the process.
The National Library’s plaque mentioned a different amount spent on the project. It says Rs. 350 million was spent on refurbishment.
The refurbishment project was a part of the development programme undertaken under the ‘Nearest School is the Best School’; a concept of former Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.
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The Sunday Times last month revealed that despite spending millions of rupees, renovations that began in 2018 remain uncompleted. Pix by Eshan Fernando
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