The birth of Don Bosco library in 1995 at Chinthanaloka inaugurated a new era of our Vice Province of Sri Lanka in the training and intellectual accompaniment of our young students for their future mission. The immediate post novitiate formation integrated with philosophical studies and research led the process of our library to greater horizons. Many of our senior Salesians have generously donated books and many other resources in the formation of our library. A number of don Bosco institutions came forward to support our project financially. The Delegation House at that time allocated Rs. 30,000 periodically creating a library fund. Our major superiors had a keen interest in strengthening our library project. Their periodic visits have opened new opportunities to acquire new volumes. A number of books have been acquired from India with the generosity of our Indian superiors and confreres. In 2002 our library found a definite and more organized project with the founding of the new library building blessed by Rev. Fr. Benjamin Puthota our late Delegate Superior and inaugurated by Rev. Bro. Gabriel Garniga our Provincial Economer. With the temporary suspension of DBCIPH in 2008 our library experienced a desertion and dispersion losing a number of important books and volumes from her possession.

Today in a span of twenty years of unfailing scholarly journey our library stands as a moral and spiritual force leading our Vice Province to the challenges of the third millennium. Today our library is in possession of over 6000 books and precious volumes of various sectors of knowledge illumining the hearts and minds of all those who enter her wise and spiritual dwelling. In 2015 the academic community launched a full-pledged rapid developmental project expanding and opening up to the modern day digitalized access of knowledge. The inauguration of the new IT department in the library and the computerization of all the volumes have opened the doors of Chinthanaloka to the World of global learning. In this process the untiring and generous service of the staff of the Colombo Public Library deserves recognition and appreciation.

THE LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), or Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876. It has been revised and expanded through 23 major editions, the latest issued in 2011, and has grown from a four-page pamphlet in 1876 with fewer than 1,000 classes to a four volume set. It is also available in an abridged version suitable for smaller libraries. It is currently maintained by the Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC), a library research centre. OCLC licenses access to an online version, Web Dewey, for cataloguers, and has an experimental linked data version on the Web with open access. The Dewey decimal classification is a system of library classification made up of ten classes, each divided into ten divisions, each having ten sections. For example, class 600 ("Technology") includes division 630 ("Agriculture and related technologies"), which includes section 636 ("Animal husbandry"). Practically, there are only 99 of 100 divisions and 908 of 1000 sections in total, as some are no longer in use or have not been assigned.

OPEN-SOURCE INTEGRATED LIBRARY AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

KOHA is the first free software library automation package. In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of users collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha’s feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES IT DEPARTMENT

[Donated to DBCIPH in the month of May 2015 by the Vice Province of Sri Lanka]

GUIDELINES FOR USE OF INTERNET BY THE STUDENTS OF DBCIPH

1. During internet use no saving or downloading is allowed. Internet is only for viewing. NB: No one can save the entire world of information to a limited PC. Information is free and space-less. A person may be tired after sometime of trying to gather data. Information will never die. They will be always there for you in an updated form.
2. Facebook, Skype, Messenger, Twitter, YouTube or any other similar form of virtual networking and entertainment will kill your precious time of intellectual work.
3. Switch on the lights and the UPS before you begin any work.
4. Make sure the ambient is clean and tidy before and after having accessed the lab.
5. Go to the PC assigned to you. NB: without due permission don’t occupy any other PC.
6. Create your own folder by name in “D” or “E” or “F” partitions. NB: Don’t create any folder or file on “C” or “Desktop”. All your work should only be in your folder.
7. Passwords, formatting, installing, hardware or software modifications are strictly prohibited. NB: don’t open any file belonging to others.
8. Save only your work and don’t change, install or delete any program on the PC.
9. Don’t remove or fix any extra hardware or software unit to the PC.
10. Videos, songs or any other multi-media material are not permitted to keep or save on the PC.
11. Inform the one in charge in case of any difficulty, emergency or damage.
12. After your use, switch off and unplug from the plug base the main supply since we are in an electric field prone to lightning and thunder.
13. Do not use the lab as a meeting or recreational place.
14. No fire, water, food or drink is allowed in the lab.
15. Switch off lights and keep locked always the lab when not in use.
16. Think of the next brother who will be having the access to the PC assigned to you. Make a better place for him.