Author: Faizan Irfan
Mphil scholar (Punjab University)
Lecturer Library Science (Govt. Associate College, Safdrabad)
Top-Rated Public Libraries in Lahore
In this article, you will come to know about top-rated public libraries in Lahore, Pakistan. Hopefully, you will enjoy reading this. Although there are many public libraries are serving in Lahore but I am focusing on some top-rated public libraries of Lahore. Which helps the book readers to avail themselves of the opportunity of seeking knowledge? These libraries exist in different parts of Lahore. And these are the following:
- Punjab Public Library
- Chughtai Public Library
- Model Town Library
- Defense Public Library
- Quaid-e-Azam Library
Govt. Punjab Public Library
Govt. Punjab Public Library, Lahore was established on 8 November 1884 by the lieutenant governor of Punjab. The Library starts its operations in Baradari, wazir khan. Other Library places were built in 1939. The library has a grasp collection of books in the entire field of knowledge in Urdu, English, Persian, Arabic, and Punjabi. The total collection of Punjab Public Library is about 375,000 that includes books, magazines, reports more than 500 manuscripts, old gazettes of Punjab. The library has a subscription of 33 journals while the rest are complimentary copies, acquires 170 magazines and 12 dailies.
Facilities and Services
The library provides facilities of reading halls, a reference section, a children’s section, book borrowing, book demand, digitization with additional services of internet and photocopy.
Address:
Library Rd, Anarkali Bazaar Lahore, Punjab 54000
Timing:
Mon-Sat 8:00am to 8:00pm
Friday 8:00am to 7:00pm ( 12am-3:00pm Jumma Prayer)
Sunday 9:00am to 3:00pm
Chughtai Public Library
Chughtai Public Library is serving for 7 years with the vision to equalize education and disseminate knowledge without discrimination. Prof. A. S. Chughtai initiated this project. Dr. Mariam Chughtai is the director of this project. Chughtai Public Library has approximately 22,000 plus collections of resources which includes a wide range of subjects like Art, Culture, Science, Education, Jurisprudence, Medicine, and Philosophy. 3300+ are availing of the collection and enjoying the services of the Library. The Library is serving the people nationally with 2 Branch libraries and 5 Reading Rooms.
Services, Facilities, and Projects:
Chughtai Public Library provides the services of Children Section, Reference service, online Public access Catalog (OPAC), Reading Halls with additional services of Pantry, Photocopying, and Printing, and Wi-Fi. Chughtai Public Library has its official website http://www.chughtailibrary.com that provides digital services to users and providing information about sitting capacity in CPL Libraries to save the precious time of users.
It time to time works on different projects. The current projects on which CPL is working are:
- Digitization Project
- Historic Monuments of Lahore
- Partition Stories of 1947
- Iqbal Lecture Series
- Educational & Summer Camps
- Participation in Children Literature Festival
- Preservation of Text-books
Address:
3XX-3S-1, Canal Park Gulberg 2, Lahore
Timings:
Monday- Saturday 7:00 am to 12:00am
Sunday 9:00am to 12:00am
Govt. Model Town Library
Govt. Model Town Library is a public library established in 1983. It has a rich collection of more than 50,000 books and 15,000 members. Since it is a public library, membership is available at 511 rupees. The library provides access to 70 periodicals & magazines, 28 Newspapers, Free Wi-Fi, an internet lab, and a facility of providing books on demand. Separate reading halls for newspapers and a computer lab also exist. The Library also provides the facility of calligraphy courses. The course is for 3 months and the library provides diploma certificates to the participants. The library remains closed annually for a month most often in September. As a library, it is very important to the residents of Model Town Lahore. A proportion of the books are only used as a reference and cannot be issued. With the lending library, only two books can be issued at a time.
Address:
Model Town Circular Rd, Block G Model Town, Lahore, Punjab 54700
Contact:
(042) 99332977
Timings
Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Sunday Closed
Defense Public Library
Defense Public Library Lahore was inaugurated on 14th April 2000 by the Chairman of Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Lahore, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Javaid. Since then the library is providing excellent literary environments for residents of DHA and its surroundings. Besides allowing members to encourage appreciation of literature, Defense Public Library extends an excellent quiet study and work areas for students and professionals. Playing its role in the preservation and public presentation of cultural heritage, the library also orchestrates special activities associated to literacy environments, which include book fairs, lectures, seminars, and exhibitions, etc.
The library has recently been renovated, improving the existing Environments and providing many interesting valuable, and highly demanded books. Presently library has over 8500 members and more than 35000 books are available in the reading halls. Defense Public Library is comprised of two floors. On the ground floor, there is a children’s reading area on the left side. The ground floor also has a separate reading area for men, enclosed by windows. Several young adults sit around here, peering from books to laptop screens, enchanted by some kind of knowledge. On the other side, there is a separate seating area for the elderly. The Library is a little over seventeen years old. The Internet is available, as well as air conditioning in separate rooms. The library makes a simple attempt at attracting people and makes them comfortable.
Membership for this library only costs PKR 150 a year, and the process of getting the library card is simple. Access is granted to everyone on occasion, and membership is not limited to DHA residents. Users can also access the library through their official website https://dpllahore.org/ .
Address:
(Temporary)507 Street No. 22 Phase – III, Sector Z DHA Phase 3, Lahore, Punjab
Timings:
Monday to Sunday 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Quaid-e-Azam Library
The Quaid-e-Azam Library is a public library located within the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Pakistan. The library was constructed in the mid-19th century during the British Raj comprised of Victorian-era Lawrence and Montgomery Halls. The library has a collection of 125,000 books in English, Urdu, Arabic, and Persian.
As of 2014, the library has 125,000 volumes, both in English and Urdu languages. Nearly two thousand books are added to the library annually. It has more than 17,000 people enrolled as members of the library. The Lawrence Hall is normally used as an assembly room for public meetings and theatrical and musical amusements. Nearly 19,000 people visit the library annually. It is a non-lending library. Day-to-day events have occurred in Quaid-e-Azam Library.
Address:
Bagh-e-Jinnah, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Jubilee Town, Lahore, Punjab 54000
Services:
- Computer Lab
- CSS Study Room
- Printing and Photocopy
- Cafeteria at QAL
- Hall on Rent
- List of Newspapers
- Request for a Book
- Kindle Device
- Senior Citizen Membership
- News Paper Clippings
- Archive Material
- Suggestions Security Measures
Quaid-e-Azam Library gives a facility of Digital access to people through their website http://www.qal.org.pk/ where people can access their required information in just a few clicks. Library also provides the option of a virtual visit to the library where people can visit the library virtually which is a good service to save users time.
Timings
Monday to Saturday 8 am–8 pm
Friday 8am–12:30pm, 2:30–7pm
Sunday 11 am–5 pm
References