News
Arbitrary decisions on renovations put library collections at risk
View(s):The National Library and the Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) where a fire was reported this week escaped serious damage to its valuable collections.
But, Upali Amarasiri, former chairman and director general of the NLDSB, asserts that the long-delayed refurbishment may endanger the library in a number of ways.
These concerns arose in the wake of the fire on Wednesday morning, while staff were in the building.
Mr. Amarasiri claimed that there were not enough portable fire extinguishers and some of them were inoperable.
Smoke-filled area next to the room where the fire started and right scenes outside the building. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
The audio-visual collections, which include CDs, video cassettes, audio cassettes, microfilms of Sri Lankan newspapers, and other publications, are said to have been directly next to the AHU room, where the fire started, according to Mr. Amarasiri. Initial reports state that the collection suffered significant damage.
The most valuable collection of Sri Lankan print publications, housed in racks next to the AV collection, is made up of priceless publications from a bygone era, including many rare materials.
It could have spread to the National Archives Department building next door, threatening the historical and priceless collection housed there, and burned the National Library along with its holdings, Mr. Amarasiri said.
He claimed, it was an extremely fortunate escape for the priceless and somewhat irreplaceable national treasure.
Mr. Amarasiri cautioned that given the severity of the problem, it is imperative that a special committee investigates the refurbishment and provides a report.
To modernise the National Library, the budget allocated Rs. 500 million in January 2017. Of which, Rs. 100m was for furniture and Rs. 400m for expanding and renovations.
A special unit of the Ministry of Education involved in developing school buildings as well as a commercial contractor, supported the refurbishment.
Only renovation and modernisation were required because the main building and its internal arrangement had been scientifically planned in the 1970s by a globally recognized UNESCO consultant architect, claimed Mr. Amarasiri.
Nevertheless, the renovation crew drastically altered the structure’s design, turning the upscale National Library building into a typical public library structure. The building’s central, protected section housing the library’s collection was taken down. Any national library must include this section, noted Mr. Amarasiri.
He accused the management of making an arbitrary decision at the beginning of 2018 to focus on renovating the main building, while the library was still operational instead of developing the new building.
In cases like this, standard protocol calls for creating a new structure and moving the important services and susceptible portions of the collection before renovating the original building. This is considered to be one of the NLDSB’s illogical choices, despite the advisory committees’ pleas and complaints which laid the groundwork for the tragedy, he noted.
Moreover, with the appropriate temperature control facilities to meet the needs of paper, audio-visual, and digital material, the UNESCO consultant skillfully developed it to protect the collection from the elements in a tropical nation.
The entire building must now have its temperature and relative humidity regulated by a state-of-the-art heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that is constantly monitored and properly maintained.
This is because the climate-controlled core area and the natural air circulation throughout the building were removed, contrary to the original plans by the UNESCO consultant.
Safeguarding the National Library’s priceless collection for generations is its main duty. Creating a comfortable atmosphere for employees and readers is its second and third duties. All of these obligations have been jeopardised by this botched renovation, stressed Mr. Amarasiri.
| Portable fire extinguishers were available Detectors had not worked because fire alarms systems were being installed, the Director General of NLDSB, W. Sunil said. However, he claimed that the library had enough portable fire extinguishers. A Rs 267 million renovation that was delayed following the coronavirus disease epidemic and the bankruptcy of the country will continue. The Ministry of Education is helping with the procurement procedure. He said operations of some sectors will be maintained. NLDSB Chairman Prof. Nanda Dharmarathna cited government funding cuts since the coronavirus disease epidemic for putting off renovations. However, he said talks will be held with two state institutions within two week, including the Ministry of Power and Energy. He suspects an electrical malfunction caused the fire. The exact cause will be known once the Department of Government Analysts provides its findings, he said. The Western Provincial Council’s engineering services department is helping to make the procurement in less than two months by calling for tenders for the Rs. 500,000 first phase of funds. Mr. Dharmarathna noted that problems related to the telephone, internet, and air conditioning systems would cease when renovations are completed in the latter half of 2025. Audit warned of fire risks, while Rs 252m paid for half-baked work A renovations contractor of the main building of the national library had been paid Rs. 252.46 million by the end of 2020 by the Ministry of Education and the contract had been extended three times before being terminated midway in March 2021, the national auditor says in a report. The tax-free contract was worth Rs. 211.93m. The renovations were to be completed in two years from 9 January 2018. The auditor had also warned of a fire risk to the “Documentary Resource Pool holding priceless and very rare books (‘Puskola poth’) / old and new documentary resources,’’ in the wake of a decision to rent out a part of that building to an outside party. A mechanism should be put in place to contain a fire and the property and employees of the board should be insured, but this was not done, the auditor observes. The management responded saying insurance contracts were signed. Data show that in 2018, the board ran a financial deficit of Rs 13.68m on revenue of Rs 151.37m. Administration expenses alone were Rs 149.14m, compared with a mere Rs 15.85m spent on library services. Overtime pay was Rs 1.89m, while welfare spending was Rs 831,392. The library spent Rs 203,224 on entertainment. Rs 505,860 was spent on railway concessionary tickets. The audit covers the National Library and Documentation Services Board for the year ended 31 December 2022. Incomplete work and work not done from the ground floor to the fourth floor had been identified in a letter by the chairman on 5 January 2022. But the deficiencies remained incomplete even by 17 July 2023, the auditor notes. The library management responded that renovations were stopped “midway’’ 2021 “due to lack of funds’’. Also, 35 books of the Martin Wickramasinghe Collection had been misplaced.-K.B. | |
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!