FAQ

What is Noolaham Foundation?

Noolaham Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization founded to provide enhanced access to information sources and foster knowledge-based development in Sri Lanka. It is a registered organization (GA 2390) based in Sri Lanka with volunteer participation from all over the world.

Noolaham Foundation was created with a view to documenting, preserving and disseminating texts and sources that speak about the social, economic, cultural and political discourses related to the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking communities. In the post-independence Sri Lanka, sites of knowledge production and knowledge preservation of the Tamil speaking communities such as the Jaffna Public Library has been lost. Therefore, it is important that we create alternative, virtual platforms where this knowledge could be preserved. Such platforms can also cater to the needs of local and international researchers who are interested in studying the various aspects of the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking communities. Noolaham Foundation is one such platform.

Our An Introduction to Noolaham Foundation booklet contains in depth details about the Foundation.

What does the Foundation do?

The Foundation runs programs and projects including

• Research based documentation projects
• Digital preservation initiatives
• Digital library, Virtual Learning Support and other information Services
• Awareness raising related to information literacy, knowledge management, digital preservation, open access etc.

Please visit the Programs page and Projects page for more details about what we do.

What has Noolaham Foundation achieved so far?

• Digitized over 15,000 documents related to Sri Lankan Tamil communities.
• Created a vast digital library (www.noolaham.org) with special collections such as Muslim Archive and Malaiyaham Archive
• Digitized collections of various individuals and institutions such as Jaffna Hindu College, Colombo Royal College and Vembadi Girls’ High School
• Digitized 24 sets of rare palm leaf manuscripts
• Created a virtual learning platform for school students with thousands of resources (www.epallikoodam.org)
• Conducted the first Tamil Documentation Conference and many other seminars and workshops on documentation, digitization etc
• Collected datasets on people, places and institutions (3000+entries)

Where does the money come from?

The Noolaham Foundation is funded by various individuals like you. We have decided that to sustain the organization in a long run without losing focus, the regular funding should be made by individuals and grass root organizations. Thus Noolaham Foundation can grow up to the level the society can fund it. We have received a small number of project grants to carry out specific documentation projects.

How are the donations spent?

As per the Annual Plan for 2015, 68% of the expenses are towards staff expenses and another 11% towards equipment. We maintain two offices and pay the related utility bills and expenses.

Through these expenses, we

• Maintain Noolaham Programs such as Noolaham Digital Library, Pallikoodam and Manuscripts Archive
• Carry out Collection development which add information sources towards the above mentioned programs and Information Services
• Pay for Foundation related expenses such as printing of Annual reports and postage
• Reimburse related expenses such as communication expenses of volunteers

Read our Annual Reports for more details.

How can I donate?

You may donate directly into our bank accounts in Sri Lanka and United Kingdom. In other countries, you may donate via Paypal or contact one of our representatives so that the money transfer costs are minimised. See Contribute page for more details.

How can I contribute in other ways?

You may

• Provide source materials and/or get permissions from authors
• Organize documentation projects
• Participate in the Projects and Programs of Noolaham Foundation

See Contribute page for more details.

How is the Foundation governed and what is the decision making process?

The Board of Directors, Regulatory Board, Sector Teams and Volunteers contribute towards the activities of the Foundation. The Noolaham Board of Directors is the ultimate authority in the Noolaham Foundation, and has the power to direct the activities of the Foundation. Please see our Management page for more details of the governance and decision making process of the Foundation.

What are the challenges Foundation faces?

• As any other organization, we have limited resources. Providing continuous access have significant recurring costs.
• We require high technical expertise. If we do not keep up with the technology we face technological obsolescence.
• Our processes need improvement.
• We have to handle censorship, and political interference issues.

How can I keep in touch with what the Foundation is doing?

Visit this web site for regular updates. The All Projects page contains the list of our past projects and current projects. The News page regularly updated and you may visit the Blog as well. In depth details are available in our Annual Reports.

How can I contact the Foundation?

See the Contact us page for details.