{{Short description|Public library in Jaffna, Sri Lanka}} {{Infobox library | name = Jaffna Public Library | logo = | image = Public Library, Jaffna.JPG | caption = Jaffna Public Library | location = Jaffna, Sri Lanka | coordinates = {{Coord|9|39|43.42|N|80|0|42.61|E|region:LK_type:landmark|display=title,inline}} | established = {{Start date and age|1933}} | num_branches = 6<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.jaffnalibrary.lk/library.php |title=Jaffna Library |access-date=2014-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319091509/http://english.jaffnalibrary.lk/library.php |archive-date=2014-03-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | collection_size = | annual_circulation = | pop_served = | budget = | director = | num_employees = | website = <!-- [http://www.jaffnalibrary.lk/ Jaffna Public Library] --> | parent_organization = Jaffna Municipal Council }}
'''Jaffna Public Library''' ({{langx|ta|யாழ் பொது நூலகம்|Yaazh Pothu Noolagam}}; {{langx|si|යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය|Yāpanaya Mahajana Pustakālaya }}) is located in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It is one of Jaffna's landmarks, and is run by the Jaffna Municipal Council. The library was built in 1933 and is Sri Lanka's second main public Library, only rivalled by Colombo Public Library<ref name="ATC">{{Cite news |title=Up from the Ashes, a Public Library in Sri Lanka Welcomes New Readers |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/08/19/432779251/up-from-the-ashes-a-public-library-in-sri-lanka-welcomes-new-readers |access-date=2017-01-09 |work=All Things Considered |publisher=NPR}}</ref> During the early 1980s, it was one of the biggest libraries in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2007/02/070202_kandy_library|title=Fire at Kandy public library|access-date=2006-03-14 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>Wilson, A. J. ''Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'', p. 125</ref> In 1981, it was burned down in a deliberate mob attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haviland |first=Charles |date=1 November 2010 |title=Sri Lanka's historic Jaffna library 'vandalised' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11668352 |access-date=12 January 2025 |website=BBC News}}</ref> Over a million books were burned in the 1981 arson attack, and some ancient Tamil books and manuscripts were never recovered. In 2001, the renovation of the library was completed, with new structures being built and new books received, although its old books and manuscripts were not replaced.
== See also == * Burning of Jaffna library
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Jaffna library}} * [http://tamilnation.co/indictment/indict017.htm Note on the history of Jaffna Public Library] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQwOZzORuhc 2009 documentary]
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Category:1933 establishments in Ceylon Category:Cultural buildings in Jaffna Category:Libraries in Jaffna District Category:Tourist attractions in Northern Province, Sri Lanka Category:Destroyed libraries