Sri Lanka launching mobile libraries to promote reading
Ten mobile libraries have been delivered to the Western Province, part of a countrywide project supported by the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat. With an endowment of 9,300 books, the vehicles will serve municipal councils and rural areas. Officials and writers highlight the initiative's value for a better informed society.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – The inaugural ceremony for the distribution of mobile libraries to ten selected local authorities in the Western Province was held at the Presidential Secretariat, as part of the Arunu Dora National Reading Promotion Programme, which promotes the culture of reading at the local level to build a knowledge-based Sri Lanka, implemented in parallel with the Clean Sri Lanka programme.
In the first phase of the project, ten mobile libraries equipped with advanced facilities and 9,300 books were handed over to the municipal councils of Kesbewa and Seethawakapura and to the Pradeshiya Sabhas (regional councils) of Homagama, Dompe, Attanagalla, Minuwangoda, Wattala, Bulathsinhala, Walallawita, and Palindanuwara.
The project was implemented by the Local Government Department of the Western Provincial Council, with funding provided by the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat.
In a speech, veteran writer Mahinda Prasad Masimbula noted that building a new society requires proper social understanding, adding that taking books from village to village to nurture love for reading in the public is undoubtedly a beautiful and meaningful experience.
He further stressed that while Sri Lanka has no shortage of literary resources or publications, it is essential to make them accessible to the reading public through an effective and systematic mechanism.
In this context, he described the programme launched as part of the Clean Sri Lanka initiative not as a simple exercise, but as a cultural process of great value, expressing confidence that it will contribute to the revival of a strong reading culture in the country.
Western Province Governor Haniffa Yusuf also spoke at the ceremony, noting that during the violence of July 1983, while nearby houses were being torched, he left his home carrying only two books and three shirts.
He emphasised that the discipline and wisdom gained through reading have allowed him to build a successful life.
For Yusuf, the Clean Sri Lanka initiative purifies not only the environment but also the human mind. Expressing his deep appreciation for the programme, he said that it was launched with future generations in mind and therefore has immense value for the country.
Addressing those present, the secretary to the President of Sri Lanka, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, said that in today's increasingly turbulent society, such programmes are crucial to developing a disciplined, value-driven future generation.
He further underscored that, under the Clean Sri Lanka programme, special attention was paid to initiatives that, although modest in scope, can have a significant impact by engaging the subtlest and most sensitive aspects of society, thus contributing to the development of a progressive and ethical social structure.
Emphasising the importance of sustaining the momentum of the Arunu Dora national reading promotion programme, Secretary Kumanayake expressed his expectation of collective support from all stakeholders to successfully advance the initiative and transform it into a nationwide project.
The mobile library vehicle service offers schoolchildren and book-loving rural communities the opportunity to access a more efficient and modern library experience. Through the Arunu Dora national reading promotion programme, similar initiatives should be further expanded across the island nation in the future.
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