South Asian Libraries Hit Hard by Tsunami

American Libraries Online article

"At a meeting held January 6–7 in Colombo, UNESCO and other organizations agreed to establish a library disaster committee to assess the extent of damage to Sri Lankan library buildings, collections, and equipment caused by the December 26 tsunami, which was responsible for more than 150,000 deaths in seven South Asian countries.

"According to a January 6 news release by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the Sri Lanka National Library has identified 177 school libraries, 53 public libraries, and 68 religious libraries that were either destroyed or damaged. Additional library damage is expected to be found on the island’s east coast, where investigations have been hampered by seasonal monsoon floods."