Resource Centre
The Resource Centre of Practical Action South Asia has been functioning since 1989 and primarily consists of a library and a technical enquiry service. The library has grown from a very small collection of books to a sizable unit and holds a wealth of information that is rare and may not be found in other libraries in Sri Lanka.
The collection is mostly on Appropriate Technology and Development, and focusing on Practical Action programmes and interests, such as micro hydro, wind energy, biogas, agro processing, transport, rural roads, disaster mitigation, gender and rainwater harvesting
At present, the collection, including books and reports is around 4,500. Many of the books have been published by Practical Action Publishing, UK. There is a fair collection of videos, slides and photographs that are related to our project activities.
The library, open to the public, is used predominantly by its staff, development workers, researchers, undergraduates and the academic staff.
Besides library functions, a Technical Enquiry Service (TES) is maintained, where free technical information is provided to people who request it. Varying types of inquiries from different parts of the world are received. All these queries are recorded on a database especially designed for this purpose.
Services
- Inter-library lending for institutions
- Literature search through computer database
- Photocopy service at a nominal fee
- Annotated bibliographies on new arrivals
- Technical Enquiry Service
- Periodicals and newspaper clippings on current topics
Opening hours
The Resource Centre is open from 9:00am - 5:00pm
Monday to Friday