DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL ARCHIVES
The main office of the Department of National Archives at No. 7, Philip Gunawardena Mawatha (Reid Avenue), Colombo 07 will close from 06th to 13th April 2019. We will open again from 15th April 2019, but researchers will not be able to access documents in the repositories till 06th May 2019. Processing of applications for extracts and certified copies at the Public Relations Office may be delayed for up to four weeks.
Why is the National Archives closing?
The repositories with our valuable collections will be fumigated, during which period it is not possible to visit the department. This closure will be for a week. There will be restricted access to documents for a further period during which documents will be shifted to new repositories in order to facilitate the installation of advanced systems that will ensure the long-term protection of the documents. During this shifting period, it will not be possible to retrieve documents from the repositories.
What can you do?
Research Room: We advise that you conduct as much of your research as possible before the closure period. You may arrange for up to six documents to be reserved in the Research Room for when it is not possible to retrieve archival volumes from the repositories.
Public Relations Office: Applicants for extracts and certified copies are advised to provide all necessary documentation for the Public Relations Office staff to be able to process your applications before the period of closure and restricted access. We will attend to your applications as fast as possible.
Contact: If you have any questions or concerns about this closure and period of restricted access, you may contact Assistant Director (AtD) Ms Chamila Priyangani (011 2688755 / 071 4449586) or Assistant Archivist Ms Shirani Patabendi (011 2688757 / 075 2214528). The officer in charge of the Public Relations Office, Assistant Archivist Ms Dilini Liyanage and the officer in charge of the Research Room, Assistant Archivist Ms Sumana Amarasinghe can be reached on our general lines 011 2696917 and 011 2694523.
We apologise for the inconvenience, but hope that you will understand that these measures are necessary for protecting our valuable records. Our branch office at No, 4/6, Hemamali Mawatha, Kandy will remain open as usual.
Director General National Archives
No. 7, Philip Gunawardena Mawatha, Colombo 07.
