American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

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: 1. books published since 2000 in Sri Lanka, including works in Sinhala and Tamil as well as English.
2. reference books, including bibliographies, dictionaries, and directories.
3. books on Sri Lanka published in India, Europe, and the United States.
4. Islam (Middle East, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia).
5. Indian history and politics.
6. Pali Text Society volumes.
7. Guidebooks, maps, and accommodation guides that may be useful for visitors to Sri Lanka. Most books in the AISLS library are listed in the online catalogue that is part of the Digital Library for International Research. From the expanded search page pick "AISLS Library Collection" from the Collection menu near the bottom of the page. This will limit your search to our collection. The most recent acquisitions may not be included in the online catalogue.The DLIR catalogue only covers books. Other materials, such as journals, article offprints and preprints, unpublished dissertations are available in the library. The library has long runs of the Journal of Asian Studies (1965-2002) and the Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities (1975 --). It also holds a selection of conference proceedings and reports on various social, economic, and political issues commissioned by government agencies and by local and international NGOs. Finally, it has 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.