Center for Khmer Studies Library

Library

Center for Khmer Studies

Wat Damnak Village
Krong Siem Reap, Siem Reap Province

Phone: 855 63 964 385

The CKS Library opened in 2001. Situated in Wat Damnak, a living Buddhist monastery in the heart of Siem Reap, the Library is the largest public academic library in Cambodia outside of Phnom Penh, and the second most important for the social sciences and humanities in the whole country. The library is separated in two buildings. The reading room is open to everyone, free of charge. The Library Collection is located in the new and large library building, which was built in 2010 for Academic studies. It has special collections on Cambodia, Indochina and Southeast Asia etc. Most of our collections focus on Southeast Asia and Indochina.

Hours: Monday - Saturday | 8:00am-12:00pm & 1:30-5:30pm


Registration Policy

To be a CKS library member, please register at the reception desk or self-registration in CKS online library.

On-site registration

  • Please present a valid ID card/student card and one passport photo
  • Registration fee: Free of charge

Online registration

  • You can register with the Library from our home page.

General Policies

  • Please present your membership card to the librarian and register your name at the reception desk. 
  • Food and drink, sweets and gum, must not be brought into the CKS library, except water. Smoking is prohibited.
  • No highlight or writing on any items.
  • No photograph/video recording without permission from the librarian
  • No excessive noise.
  • No bag allowed in the Reading Room. Deposit your bags at the library's locker; lockers are available on request.
  • Mobile phones should be switched to silent, vibrate mode. Please do not make or receive calls within the library room.
  • WiFi and computer services are for academic or study purposes only.
  • Please leave the book on the cart after reading. Librarians will reshelve it.
  • If the Reading Room reaches capacity, the library terrace is available to use including the terrace of the Collection Room.
  • Have your belongings checked before leaving the library. CKS library is not responsible for personal items.

Public Computer Use

  • We limit an hour of use of the library computer for each patron.

Book Loans

On-site Checkout

  • Those who hold a library membership card would be able to take the books to read at the library terrace. Please contact the reception desk for that service.  Materials must be returned to the reception desk 15 minutes before the library closes.

Off-site Checkout

  • Available for CKS affiliates, fellows, and partners only.
  • Maximum 3 items are available to check out with the loan period of 14 working days.

Photocopy Service

  • If there is a particular item that you would like to copy, please ask the librarians. This is normally a one day service but maybe longer depending on the number of copies you request. Please pay in advance.
  • No more than one-quarter of a book may be photocopied with a maximum of 50 printed pages. Thin books or articles may be photocopied in their entirety, if condition permits.
  • Rare and damaged materials will not be provided for this service.
  • Fee: 200 Riels/page.

Scan and Deliver Service

Scan and Deliver is an electronic document delivery service which allows you to receive scans by email of book chapters or journal articles.

Who’s eligible

We currently provide the Scan and Deliver service to all CKS affiliates, fellows, and partners for free.

Limitation of use

All Scan & Deliver requests are subject to copyright restrictions. We adhere to the following limits for document delivery:

  • 1 article from a journal issue or 1 chapter or 20% of a book.
  • Thin books or articles may be scanned and delivered in their entirety, if condition permits.
  • Rare and damaged books will not be provided for this service.
  • 1 request per single person per week

If we receive requests exceeding the limitation, your request will not be accepted.

Making Your Request

  • To use this service, login (registration is free) to the online catalog.
  • After you have an account, use the Ask A Librarian link above to email us. Provide your name and how you are affiliated with CKS. We will review your request, then enable the Request Article feature on your account as appropriate and reply to your email.
  • Then you can navigate to the item you would like scanned, click Request Article, and submit your request.
  • Requests are normally fulfilled within five working days. This excludes weekends and any library holidays.
  • Your request will be delivered via email.

Interlibrary Loans

  • According to the MoA of Interlibrary loan between CKS library and CDRI Library, RUPP University Library, and Angkor University, all those library members are eligible to apply for library loans from CKS library. Please contact your home libraries.

The Reading Room

Books are arranged on shelves by subject. Library also has some documents store in the public computer as below:

  • Collection of theses in PDF format: you can view all theses through CKS public computers in the Reading Room but you may not download it. If you wish to copy, please contact library staff.
  • Microfilm digitized from John M. Echols Cornell University collection about Cambodia: you can view all theses through CKS public computers in the Reading Room but you may not download it. If you wish to copy, please contact library staff.
  • Performing arts station computer: features a collection of rare traditional Cambodian music and music instruments from the archives of CLA (Cambodian Living Arts) with samples of music and photographs.
  • JSTOR: JSTOR offers researchers the ability to retrieve high resolution, scanned images of journal issues and pages as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. Access to JSTOR is available on request. For more information please see jstor.org. Any questions please ask the librarian. 
  • Research4Life: There are five programs through which patrons can access contents: Research for Health (Hinari), Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Research in the Environment (OARE), Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI) and Research for Global Justice (GOALI) research4life.org. Available on-site with only CKS public computers.
  • Khmer Rouge History App: A smart device application for learning Khmer Rouge History. Available on CKS public tablets, or can be downloaded for free on smartphones. Download the App for free: iOS or  Android

The Scholar Room

The Scholar Room is reserved for all researchers. All researchers must complete a registration form which is available at the reception desk or contact the librarian via email library@khmerstudies.org before using the room. 

Rare Materials
  • Rare materials include archives, early books and journal prints.
  • Rare materials can be consulted in the Rare Materials Room ONLY, and are subject to special handling conditions.
  • The use of CAMERAS or SCANNERS is not permitted in the Rare Materials Room.
  • Materials may not be removed from the Rare Materials Room without permission or be left unattended.
  • You are responsible for each item issued to you until you return it to the librarian.
  • Materials must be returned to the librarian 15 minutes before the library closes.
  • If you wish to take notes, please use appropriate note books and lead pencils ONLY.

For reference assistance, please consult librarians at the library counter.