The Institute of Indigenous Medicine is the premier higher educational institute in Sri Lanka which acclaimed the centre of excellence in Ayurveda and indigenous medicine. The institute was inaugurated in 1929 as the College of Ayurveda, in the Bauer building - Cotta Road, Borella. In 1977, the college was affiliated to the University of Colombo and renamed as the Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo – presently located at Rajagiriya, by the side of new Parliamentary Road. This institute is one of the oldest indigenous medical institutions and leading institutions of higher medical learning in Sri Lanka. Now the institute provides a five year degree courses named Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery (B.A.M.S.) and Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (B.U.M.S.). After the establishment of Post Graduate Section in 1993, they offer M. Phil (Ayu), M. Phil. (Unani) and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degrees. The library was founded in the same year that the Ayurvedic College was inaugurated. The library has a good collection of books on Ayurveda, Unani, Western and Indigenous medicine in various languages. In addition to the Sinhala and English languages, books on ayurveda in Sanskrit , books on Unani in Urdu are among them.