Adab-o-Kutub Khana-15 published

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The 15th edition of Adab-o-Kutub Khana has been published by the Bazm-e-Akram during the first month of the current year (2021) and it’s being delivered to its various contributors and subscribers spread in different corners of the world.

The future of the annual publication had looked jeopardized when last year some members of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), who also happened to be the office-bearers of the Bazm-e-Akram, had expressed their reservations about various aspects of Adab-o-Kutub Khana before having agreed reluctantly to let it continue on self-help basis. 

The Chief Editor of Adab-o-Kutub Khana, Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, who is also the central figure of the bureau in the absence of its Founder President, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who has returned to USA, has succeeded in getting the 15th edition of the annual published despite the numerous challenges posed by coronavirus (COVID-19) last year. 

“2020 was a tough year for libraries and literature. Quite a few luminaries of the literary world passed away and some eminent library professionals also left this mortal world,” Prof Dr Nasim Fatima observed in her opening remarks. 

She has not minced words in stating that, due to the rising inflation and the limited financial resources the publication of the annual may not be possible in future until the situation improved. 

Adab-o-Kutub Khana-15 is spread over 236 pages, having retained its earlier price of Rupees 500 per copy in Pakistan while it will be continue to be available for USD15 abroad. Noted researcher, Dr Abdul Haleem Chishti, who expired in October 2020, features on the cover of the annual publication. 

Besides editorial, there are hamds, naats, ghazals, poems, religious articles, short stories, interviews, comments, analysis, research articles and travelogues besides an article on libraries of Turkey.

Timely PLISJ publication despite COVID-19

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), a quarterly publication of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), arrived in time once more even though life and businesses were affected due to the second wave of coronavirus (COVID-19). 

The PLISJ’s April-June 2020 issue (Volume 52, Number 1) has seen the light of the day at the designated time although its Chief Editor, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who is also the Founder President of the LPB, had flown back to the United States last November. 

A former chairperson of the University of Karachi’s Library and Information Science department, he has continued to be the backbone of the bureau as well as the journal, being assisted his loyal and worthy lieutenant, Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, who handles the operations from their Karachi office. 

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, however, has regretted the lukewarm attitude of fellow library professionals towards scholarly efforts of the bureau. 

“All professional librarians and the LIS faculty members know that the LPB is serving for the last 55 years to meet the professional and scholarly needs of students, librarians and teachers. But Alas! There is great disregard and negligence in encouraging and lending support by our professionals,” he highlighted in the editorial of the latest issue of the PLISJ which itself is being published regularly for more than half a century.

Major library events planned in 2021

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions are being eased by the authorities in Pakistan, the National Library Association (NLA) has chalked out major events which it has planned to hold during the ongoing calendar year of 2021. 

A meeting of the core committee of the NLA was held in Karachi on February 23 which discussed at length the various events which it’s enthusiastic to organize during the course of the year. 

Muzaffar Ali Shah, President, NLA, chaired the meeting which was also attended by its Secretary General, Anwar Hussain, and Nasir Mustafa. Syed Khalid Mahmood, a member of the Association’s Advisory Committee, and a few other observers were also in attendance. 

The NLA has decided to celebrate the World Book & Copyright Day on April 23 with a befitting ceremony to be organized at a community centre located in Federal-B-Area. Iftar-dinner reception will be arranged for the participants on the occasion. 

The NLA has also planned to hold a Library Week in the second half of the year during which various events, aimed at promoting readership culture, will be organized in different parts of the country. Its dates will be finalized next month.

JTECH 2021 on February 26, 27

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the Jinnah University for Women (JUW) in Karachi will be organizing an event by the name of JTECH at their campus, located at Nazimabad, on February 26 and 27 with its timings being 10 am to 2 pm. 

The organizers informed PNFS that the event has been held on yearly basis, with the collaboration of faculty and volunteering students, for the past years. 

JTECH has been hailed as a technology extravaganza where the students of JUW exhibit their final year projects and innovative ideas for business startup. 

The projects and ideas are based on cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality. 

The vision behind organizing an event of this kind is to encourage women and enable them to meet professionals from the industry besides showcasing their projects on a public platform which unfold their dedication, creativity and technical abilities. 

The JTECH 2021, to be spread over two days, is expected to attract more media attention than before as the organizers desire to take the event to higher level. JUW holds the distinction of being the first women university in Pakistan.