Library Association should have own library

By Prof Dr Nasim Fatima
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Pakistan Library Association (PLA), an elected national body, is holding a conference in Lahore on October 12 and 13. It has its set-up in the headquarters as well as all the four provinces. It also has presence on the web. 

The PLA is credited to have established computer centres, alongwith its offices, in all the provincial capitals. A few of them are working actively while the others haven’t got moving at the desired pace yet.

With the PLA gearing up for a high profile event here are some observations and suggestions from my side, coming from a senior professional, library scientist, author and researcher: 

Each PLA office should establish a library with books and e-books. They should have computers with internet facility. These will serve as resource centres for the PLA members as well as the retired senior citizens. 

The PLA should devise a strategy to collect donation of books from individuals. Such books may be collected, processed and retrieved at the demand of the PLA members. 

The PLA office-bearers should create a post of PLA Centre Librarian to look after the library matters under the guidance of the headquarters. 

All the PLA Centres in the various provinces should be linked with the headquarters electronically. Each provincial chapter of the PLA should acquire the historical documents about the Association and after its scanning they me stored in an honourable manner for the benefit of the historians and researchers of future. 

The PLA publications should be preserved manually as well as mechanically so that they could be accessed conveniently by the users. 

The PLA Headquarter should be in touch regularly with its provincial offices who should be motivated and guided to approach the concerned authorities in their respective provinces for grants and funds to run the PLA Centre libraries. 

The library associations in quite a few countries of the world have libraries of their own. Similarly the PLA, with the assistance and support of the government, can make things happen in this regard. It will be a service for the cause of the profession besides service to the society in general.