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Colombo Library
The library of the American Institute of Lankan Studies is open to all AISLS members and to other scholars.
It is a reference library - materials may not be removed from the premises. Photocopying
facilities are available. Inquires concerning the use of the library should be made to
the Center staff. The Center is normally open from 10:00 to 4:00 on weekdays, pending
staff availability. We suggest that you telephone in advance to check that the library
is open (011-250-8512).

The library holds about 1,500 books. In addition to books on Sri Lanka, the collection
includes works on other regions (mainly other countries in South, Southeast, and West
Asia) and theoretical works that provide perspectives useful for scholars working on
Sri Lanka. It has special strengths in the following areas:
- books published since 2000 in Sri Lanka, including works in Sinhala and Tamil as well as English.
- reference books, including bibliographies, dictionaries, and directories.
- books on Sri Lanka published in India, Europe, and the United States.
- Islam (Middle East, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia).
- Indian history and politics.
- Pali Text Society volumes.
- Guidebooks, maps, and accommodation guides that may be useful for visitors to
Sri Lanka.
Most books in the library are found in the online catalog. The DLIR catalogue only covers books. Other materials, such as journals, article offprints, conference proceedings and NGO reports
are also available. Holdings include a complete run of the Sri Lanka Journal of the
Humanities and a selection of compact disks that offer summaries and translations of recent
Sri Lankan press coverage.

In addition to the DLIR catalogue, the library also has its own electronic catalogue,
available on the premises.

The library subscribes to JSTOR, an on-line
scholarly database that offers full-text retrospective coverage of many international
journals. The Center staff is trained to offer library
patrons help in searching the JSTOR database.

Library patrons also have onsite access to the Bibliography of Asian Studies, an online bibliography that covers
European-language journal articles and book chapters published since 1970.
This bibliography includes coverage of materials published in Sri Lanka.
A short guide to using this resource is available in the library.
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