Worthy students celebrate Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari’s birthday

Pakistan News & Features Services 

Glowing tributes were paid to the legendary Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President, Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, and Founder Chief Editor, Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), on the occasion of his birthday celebrations held at the Liaquat Memorial Library, Karachi.

The ceremony was organized by the worthy students of the great library scientist, having assembled under the banner of the Bazm-e-Akram which came into being in 1976, with Mr Adil Usmani being the Founder President. It has become a proactive literary organization of the library professionals. 

“We celebrated the birthday of our beloved teacher with great enthusiasm in the presence of the majority of the members of the Bazm-e-Akram and we prayed for the health and long life of Doctor Sahib,” Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, the Honorary Chairperson of the forum, disclosed. 

“His accomplishments are a source of inspiration for all of us and we derive motivation by his continued guidance and support. To us he has been the pillar on whom the field of Library & Information Science has rested for a number of decades. May Allah Grant him long life and may he continue delivering with the same intensity all his life,” she prayed. 

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, having served the as the Chairperson of the Department of Library & Information Science at the University of Karachi, revealed that the Bazm-e-Akram, which has recently brought out fifth edition of its flagship publication Adab-o-Kutub Khana, has the plans to expand its activities. 

Meanwhile, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, a legendary scholar and one of the pioneers of the profession of Library & Information Science in Pakistan, has continued working hard unabated for the cause even after having relocated to the United States of America (USA) a few years ago. 

He has made a point to continue all the projects he had initiated which brings him to Pakistan regularly. He has lost none of his passion for scholastic activities and remains a perfect role model for the LIS professionals. 

He has had a meritorious record of academic and professional career and qualifications. He earned the scholastic degrees of MLIS from the University of Michigan, USA, MA in Economics from the University of Karachi and PhD from Century University, USA. He served as Reference and Readers Advisor at the US Information Centre, Karachi, before joining the University of Karachi as an Assistant Professor where he became the Chairman of the LIS department. 

He also worked at the Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari founded the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB) in 1966 to produce professional literature in LIS. He launched the Pakistan Library Bulltein in 1968 which was later renamed as the Pakistan Library & Information Science Journal which remains a premier quarterly journal of the country. Besides authoring a large number of books he is credited to have compiled the famous Pakistan Book Trade Directory in 1966.