Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Argued to be the country's oldest cultural institution, the library is a leading resource for
information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...
— ancient and new. The
National Library
A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...
collection includes approximately 66% of all serial and 50-55% of all books publications in the country.
Designed with Eastern architecture, the library includes space for 500 readers, has 15 research rooms, a 450-seat auditorium, and provides computer and microfilm services. At its opening in 1993, the library owned a collection of 130,000 volumes and 600 manuscripts. The
National Library
A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...
's mission is to promote
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...
and serve as a dynamic cultural and educational center for the state's capital
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
.
History
Authorization for a
national library
A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...
can be traced back to 1949, although it was not established until 1951 under the secretariat of the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
(MoEd). However, there was no physical library infrastructure until 1954 when the National Library merged with the existing Liaquat Memorial Library in Karachi, and was renamed the Liaquat National Library (LNL). Plans began to move it to
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
in 1963, and 1968 saw the separation of the Liaquat and National libraries, with the latter relocated to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
's capitol,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
. The library was housed in a series of rented structures until construction of a permanent building was completed in 1988. The formal opening took place on the 24th of August 1993. Scholar Syed Jalaluddin Haider dates the library's existence later, to April 1999, when the 100,000-volume collection housed by the Department of Libraries was physically moved into the new building.
In 1962, the Library received the right of transference of all
copyrighted
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
works to be deposited into its collections. In 1963, the Library began receiving two copies of all
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...
s,
map
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
s,
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...
s and
diagram
A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a three ...
s printed in Pakistan as part of the ordinance. During the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
, the library was thinned with the creation of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
with key material transferring to
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. After a period of slow growth in its reconstruction, the library began to enlarge its size and importance in the country. Development culminated in the 1980s of an expensive and separated national library building within the vicinity of the Supreme Court's library. It gained more significance in 1992 with the promulgation of copyright (amendment) act 1992. In addition to deposited collections that began in 1993, clauses to include electronic publications as deposit material were also being added to the Copyright law in 2014.Muhammad Waris, Bhatti. 2014. "National Library of Pakistan as Legal Depository." ''Pakistan Library & Information Science Journal'' 45, no. 1: 18-23.
See also
*
List of libraries
This is an alphabetical list of notable libraries around the world. It includes both notable public lending libraries and research libraries.
Alphabetical
A
* Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, Scotland
* African Heritage Research Library and C ...
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...