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| Sunday, 21 August 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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American
Centre re-opened :
Attention 'bookaholics' by Aditha Dissanayake Ever wished you had all the time in the world to read more? Why not get up 15 minutes early. Keep a book by your bed. Keep one in your briefcase or handbag. Turn off the TV. Talk less. Can't sleep? Don't count sheep. Read.
After being closed for four months when the library premises were taken over for work related to the tsunami, the American Centre is now back in full swing with a collection which provides authoritative and current information on topics that are central to the bilateral relationship between the two countries. "We use a variety of resources, both traditional (books and periodicals) and state-of-the-art (data-bases and the internet) to help our patrons," Explains the Cultural Affairs Officer Angela Gemza. The collection of over 4,500 books focuses on U.S society and culture, with an emphasis on social sciences. The subjects range from books on U.S. government, economics, business, education, history, science and the environment to English language, literature and the arts. More than 50 U.S periodicals including the Newsweek and Time magazines are available at the reference section, together with newspapers (i.e Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, etc). The collection also consists of 350 video tapes and 139 DVDs including feature films and documentaries. Open on five days of the week, (Monday to Friday from 10.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m.), the Information Resource Centre provides four types of membership for its patrons. The fee for Personal Membership for adults other than students is Rs. 1,000 and allows two books for a loan period of two weeks. Institutional membership is Rs. 3,000 per year which would in turn enable the employees to get personal membership for Rs. 500. The membership for students and undergraduates too, is Rs. 500. "Photocopy services are available if they are for educational purposes" explains Gemza. "We are strict with copyright laws" Computers are provided for the members to search and access the library collection. Patrons can search for materials by author, title, subject and find a full catalogue listing of the material, including information as to whether it belongs to the reference or circulation section, and whether it is checked out or on the shelf. There are also six online internet work stations, each providing uninterrupted access to the worldwide web. "Our staff is very customer-friendly and is always available to provide any assistance a patron may require. We welcome inquiries", says Director/AIRC, Deepali Talagala. "Whether it is a simple query about the time differences between the two countries or about the Fourth of July, we are willing to help our patrons find the information they need". "Yes, the staff is so friendly sometimes when I search for them to do some other work I find them out in the library helping a client", confirms Gemza.Regular workshops are conducted by the staff to help patrons make the most of the internet with recent sessions focusing on e-governance and the internet for journalists. Workshops for school children too can be arranged on request. "Twenty law students from the University of Colombo were given a tutorial on the databases last week. This hands-on experience would be of great help to anyone involved in research work," explains Gemza."The Centre's subscription to online and CD ROM databases equips our staff to provide unique services to our clients". The databases include Wilson Disc - Social Science Full Text, EBSCO and PROQUEST, FACTIVA etc. Talking about the "American Corner" inside the D.S Senanayake Public Library in Kandy, she says it resembles a miniature version of the library in Colombo with around 1000 books, periodicals and DVDs, and is thus called a "corner" because it's a mini American centre. One other "corner" is in Male while plans are being made to open several other mini Information Resource Centres in other towns in Sri Lanka. Provided you are ready to submit your mobile phone (if its got a camera inside it) to the security, and walk through a metal detector, access to the American Centre is not as difficult as it is rumoured to be. Step into the library on a weekday, and who knows turning the back issues of a Newsweek you might come across this passage "There may be no more pleasing picture in the world than that of a child peering at a book. The past and the future entrancing each other. Nor does anyone look quite so attractive as with a book in hand. How many people have fallen in love merely at the sight of someone reading?". Hold it there. This could be happening to you right now. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Okay. End of lecture. But if you can't live without them, if your heart
goes thump, thump, thump when you see them, if you are ready to give
anything in the world to have them (what am I talking about? Food? no.
clothes? no. Men? no! Books? yes). The place to be right now is at the
American Centre, which is the Office of Public Diplomacy of the U.S Embassy.
