ASHRAFF A SAMAD
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s First Street Library was gifted to the people of Sri Lanka by the people of Pakistan on Monday, May 30.
The gift to enhance the timeless friendship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was inaugurated on Monday.
Pakistan High Commissioner Maj General (R) Farooq Burki and Urban Development Authority Chairman Major General (Ritired ) Udaya Nanayakara jointly opened the new library.
Books in all three languages are available at the library in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages
The location of the library is a beautiful and scenic area with a quiet environment in the shade of a large tree, opposite the famous Royal College in the parking lot of the race course.
The idea is that such environment will stimulate the reader to develop an interest in reading. Anyone can access this library for free of charge .
The building and books were donated by the Government of Pakistan, under the concept of a “Street Library”.
This Library has a different concept compared to traditional libraries. That is, this library will operate on the concept of “Take a book, leave a book.”. There is no librarian and anyone can come here and read books.
Readers are encouraged to donate books of their choice to the library, especially when they are taking any book with them.
The raging violence in the world can only be alleviated by a human society of free-thinking and aesthetic minds.
“ We thank the Government of Sri Lanka on behalf of our country for appreciating and accepting our proposal and their cooperation and provision of a suitable area for construction of the library, high commissioner Burki said .
