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Vote of condolence in honour of late Ian Goonetilleke proposed by Prof. K.N.O. Dharmadasa and passed at its June meeting by the Senate of the University of Peradeniya.

"At the first convocation of the University of Ceylon, in its destined home in Peradeniya, our first Vice-Chancellor Sir Ivor Jennings gave the Convocation Address which he titled "Our Benefactors". There he spoke of the early benefactors to this institution which started in 1921 as The Ceylon University College.

These early benefactors in their desire to promote its growth into a great seat of learning had donated their wealth as well as many valuable collections of books and manuscripts. Now 49 years later, when we look back at the trials, tribulations as well as the triumphs of this first university in the island we can't help taking note of some key figures whose dedication, vision and unrelenting labour helped transform that fledgling institution into one of the greatest seats of learning in this part of the world.

Ian Goonetilleke, whom we remember today, was one such benefactor, materially as well as spiritually in the development of this university. He served in the University Library for 27 long years from 1953. At the time of his pre-mature retirement in 1979, he had served as the Chief Librarian for 8 years. During his career in the Library he had been a dedicated and tasteful collector of knowledge, a unique creator of knowledge, as well as a munificent distributor of knowledge.

Ian Goonetilleke

Ian played a key role in making the Peradeniya Library one of the most outstanding repositories of knowledge in the country. He guided the library with utmost dedication during a time of tremendous expansion in tertiary education which happened to be a time of immense anxiety as well. This was due to a programme of University re-organization which threatened the integrity of our university more than any other. The Library was in imminent danger of dismemberment. Those who were in Peradeniya at the time will recall the tenacity with which Ian fought and succeeded in preserving the Library as it was, thus saving it intact for future generations.

There are many unique academic achievements of Ian which brought fame to Preadeniya.

(1) He was the only Asian student to have won the John Duncan Cowley prize for the Postgraduate Diploma in librarianship in the University of London (1956) since its inauguration in 1919.

(2)He was the only Sri Lankan Librarian to be invited to serve on the Advisory Council of the Library and Archives of the Director General of UNESCO. That was in 1977-1978.

(3) He was the first Sri Lankan Librarian to obtain his Fellowship by thesis from the Library Association of UK and Ireland. That was in 1996 with distinction Grade as well.

(4) He was the only Sri Lankan Librarian to have been invited to be a supervisor and examiner of theses at the University of London by the Library Association of the United Kingdom.

Ian played many roles simultaneously and with equal felicity and dedication when he was at Peradeniya: As professional librarian (how many are aware that the Ceylon Room was his brainchild?), scholar (the 13 books and numerous research articles and reviews on diverse fields such as art, literature, history, biography, politics and current affairs bear testimony to the fact that he was no mere keeper of books), connoisseur of art (the magnificent collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and other objects of art he had was well known in art circles), trade unionist (there was no important venture by the now extinct UTA without Ian's involvement), forthright commentator on public issues and an outspoken critic of transgression and injustice (the many petitions, protestations in the UTA and outside it, where Ian played an active role are testimony to his willingness to stick his neck out). But above all his lasting contribution has been to the art and craft of bibliography, systematic, analytical and descriptive.

It is said that the discipline of bibliography is the most exacting of all disciplines and we know how H.A.I. Goonetileke's six volumes of A Bibliography of Ceylon (Sri Lanka): A Systematic Guide to the Literature on the Land, People, History and Culture has been rated by world standards. I do not know of any other single work by a Sri Lankan scholar which has earned so many encomiums from critics from all parts of the world. The initial element of this classic in bibliography was the dissertation he submitted for the Fellowship of The Library Association of Great Britain and Ireland (1966) which was described as "a magnificent and monumental piece of work, which more than deserved the award that was made for it".

The Bibliography of Ceylon will remain the most indispensable source for all scholars concerned with Sri Lanka studies. A few comments by critics on this monumental work are worth recalling.

Stanley Sutton, former Librarian of the India Office Library, says that "In comprehensiveness, layout and design, restrained annotation, classification and arrangement, and meticulous accuracy it leaves nothing to be desired"; Michael Ames calls Ian "the super sleuth of Ceylon Studies" adding that" no serious student of that country can afford to ignore the Bibliography of Ceylon,"; B.H. Farmer says that "altogether it is difficult to fault the Bibliography on grounds of either content or presentation, and the mind boggles at the industry and patience of the compiler". Calvin A Wood ward acknowledges Ian's competence to deal with the broad area of Sri Lankan studies in the following manner. "It is obvious that Gonnetileke has a rare knack of pruning to the essence of an authors contribution. One has also to admire his intellectual breadth."

"This is particularly refreshing at a time when most scholars fear to essay a written opinion on matters outside the narrow confines of their inter-disciplinary specialization". A. Sivanandan expresses his admiration with the following comments: "merely to locate the material dispersed by four and half centuries of colonial rule was itself a formidable undertaking. To record it thereafter in an organized, intelligible and coherent fashion with cross references and indexes, annotations and layout and, not the least, a subject classification predicated by the literature itself is an achievement that attests not only to the author's bibliographical skill but to his knowledge and feel for his country. And it is these qualities of polymath and patriot that give this third volume the political edge the previous ones had only hinted at".

According to K.M. de Silva, "We have now a monumental work which places all Sri Lankan scholars in Goonetileke's debt for having made their research forays so much easier than they would be without his bibliography to guide them on the way.

It consolidates his reputation for scholarship and sets the standards by which all other Sri Lankan bibliographers would be judged. His greatest achievement is to have raised the craft of bibliography, if not to an art form, at least to a level of equality with some of the better monographic studies produced by scholars in the social sciences". We can go on quoting many such words of praise and admiration, and I wonder what else we can add to Professor J.D. Pearson's observation that H.A.I. Goonetileke rank with "the greatest Orientalist bibliographers of all time".

Like his colleague, Sarachchandra, who called Peradeniya "unbelievable, a magical part of the world", Ian had a deep attachment to this magnificent institution and helped it to achieve the stature it had by the time he left. Here I would like to quote his own words:" About the campus I have always maintained that it made me what I became - the influence of the context of scholarship and learning, the nature of the institution, the natural setting. In our old age we revive the moment we cross the Peradeniya Bridge and our shrivelled bodies are warmed and enlivened by the essence and ambience of the dear perpetual place".

Peradeniya, in recognition of his scholarly achievements and his contribution to the development of the academic stature of the institution, conferred on him the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) in 1991. For Ian, having acknowledged the fact that the 27 years he spent in Peradeniya were the most rewarding, fruitful and enlightening period" of his life it was perhaps but natural to have decided in 1994 to bequeath his unique collection of books, painting, drawings and other objects of art to this institution for which he had an incomparable love and attachment.

In material terms, I would say that Ian's bequest surpasses in value all other bequests made to this institution since its inception. As some of us are aware, there were financial offers for any sum he would name, but he was unswerving in his resolve. Such was his attachment to Peradeniya. Among his other gifts to Peradeniya is the Ludowyk Memorial Lecture, held annually with funds made available by Ian in memory of his Guru, Professor Ludowyk. Few alumni have made so much 'pratidana' to this institution as Ian has. We remember him with gratitude. May he attain Nibbana.

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