Author: Faizan Irfan
Mphil scholar (Punjab University)
Lecturer Library Science (Govt. Associate College, Safdrabad)
National Library of Pakistan
This article is about the National Library of Pakistan. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading this.
Introduction
In 1951, under the Department of Archives and Libraries, a skeleton National Library was founded. Liaquat Memorial Library was merged with the National Library in 1954 and renamed Liaquat National Library. Basically, the Liaquat National Library was renamed Liaquat Memorial Library after the country’s new capital was established. ECNEC approved the scheme for the establishment of the National Library of Pakistan in Islamabad in 1963. However, due to a delay in the approval of the architectural plans and the low priority accorded to the project, construction of the Library building could not begin.
Furthermore, the plans for the library were approved in April 1980, and construction began in 1982. Finally, in September 1985, the ENCEC amended and approved the project for the establishment of the National Library of Pakistan, with a capital expenditure of Rs.130.322 million. The majority of the civil work was completed on time in June 1988, and the library’s holdings and personnel moved into the new facility that same year. On August 24, 1993, the library was launched by Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister, Mion-ud-Din Ahmad Qureshi, and its doors were opened to the public.
Building of National Library of Pakistan
The National Library of Pakistan is located next to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat at Shah Rah-e-Jamhoriat. The structure has four levels and a total covered area of 168,844 square feet, with central air conditioning and heating. Serial Division, Book and Newspaper Delivery Branch, Telephone Exchange, Air-conditioning and Electric Plants are all located on the bottom floor.
Apart from this, the main entrance to the library, Reception, the Digital Information Division, the Public Canteen, the Computer section, the Record Creation section, the Acquisition section, the Planning and Research section, the ISBN Agency, the Preservation & Conservation section, the Lending Division Model Children Library, and Accounts are all located on the ground floor. The first level houses the Online Public Access Catalogue, 04 Reading Halls, Manuscript & Rare Books Department, Establishment, Seminar Room, Class Room, and Meeting Room offices, as well as the On-line Public Access Catalogue.
The top storey of the structure, the 2nd floor, houses the general Stacks as well as 14 research rooms. The book elevators, lifts, and stairwells connect all of the floors. The National Library’s Auditorium, which seats 400 people, has become a focal point for educational and cultural events in Islamabad. The National Library’s reading halls include 500 seats available for readers and research scholars.
The Infrastructure of the National Library of Pakistan
The National Library building has a covered area of 168,800 sq. ft. and was built on land measuring 500x 112ft. On four levels, it is a centrally air-conditioned/heated structure with a storage capacity of one million volumes, 500 general readers’ seats, a staff workspace, an auditorium, and other services.
Vision
The vision of NLP id following: “To become a world-class national library of the region for inspiring creativity and innovation in the country”
Activities of NLP
Conclusionly, the following objectives for the National Library have been established based on the ideological and cultural needs of the people of Pakistan and the importance of the National Library as the nation’s topmost resource centre of its literary heritage and the fountainhead of all kinds of library development in the country:
- To serve as a legal depository for all Pakistani publications unpublished
- To preserve the nation’s literary heritage for current and future generations.
- In order to preserve national bibliographic control, prepare and publish a Pakistan national bibliography and bibliographies.
- To act as a national and international book exchange.
- To act as Pakistan’s ISBN agency.
- And to encourage Pakistani libraries to share resources and adhere to bibliographic standards.
References
Retrieved from: http://nlp.gov.pk/index.html