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| National Library | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Isfahani Road,Red Zone,Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan |
| Type | Research andDepository |
| Established | 1951 (74 years ago) (1951) Reconstituted in 1993 |
| Branch of | N/A |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | ~200,000 catalogued books in the Library system 580 hand written ancient manuscripts and over 10,000 key text on the history ofUrdu,Arabic,Persian, andEnglish languages; 55,836 book on science and technology; ~40,000 bound volumes of newspapers and periodicals[1] |
| Size | 300,000[1] |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | Library does not publicly circulate |
| Population served | 442 members of theParliament of Pakistan, their staff, and members of the public |
| Other information | |
| Budget | ₨.60.2 million[2] |
| Director | Ch. Muhammad Nazir[3] Chief National Librarian |
| Employees | ~178 |
| Website | www |
TheNational Library of Pakistan (Urdu:قومى کتب خانہ پاکستان) is located in the vicinity of theRed Zone,Islamabad,Pakistan.[4] Argued to be the country's oldest cultural institution, the library is a leading resource forinformation— ancient and new.[5] TheNational Library collection includes approximately 66% of all serial and 50-55% of all books publications in the country.[6]
Designed withEastern architecture, the library includes space for 500 readers, has 15 research rooms, a 450-seat auditorium, and provides computer and microfilm services.[7][8] At its opening in 1993, the library owned a collection of 130,000 volumes and 600 manuscripts.[9] TheNational Library's mission is to promoteliteracy and serve as a dynamic cultural and educational center for the state's capitalIslamabad.[5]
Authorization for anational library can be traced back to 1949, although it was not established until 1951 under the secretariat of theMinistry of Education (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 theLiaquat National Library (LNL). Plans began to move the library toIslamabad in 1963, and 1968 saw the separation of the Liaquat and National libraries, with the latter relocated toPakistan's new capital,Islamabad.[10] 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 24 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.[8][11]
In 1962, the library received the right of transference of allcopyrighted works to be deposited into its collections. In 1963, the Library began receiving two copies of allbooks,maps,illustrations anddiagrams printed in Pakistan as part of the ordinance. During theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, the library was thinned with the creation ofBangladesh with key material being transferred toBangladesh.[12] After a period of slow growth in its reconstruction, the library began to enlarge its size and importance in the country.[10][12] Development culminated in the 1980s with an expensive and separated national library building within the vicinity of theSupreme Court's library.[13] It gained more significance in 1992 with the promulgation of copyright (amendment) act 1992.[10] 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.[14]
| Islamabad | |
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| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Punjab | |
| Sindh | |
33°43′36″N73°06′06″E / 33.726696°N 73.101736°E /33.726696; 73.101736
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
