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  By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) The Founder President of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, has left for the United States of America (USA) after an extended stay of nearly a year in Pakistan on November 1.  According to details, the LPB founder, who had originally arrived for five-month visit of his home country last November, could not return at the designated time which was in the last week of March this year as flights to USA had been suspended due to the outbreak of the pandemic.  Although life generally had come to standstill in most parts of the world, including Pakistan, with lockdowns and social distancing becoming norms due to coronavirus (COVID-19) since the mid of March, it went to the credit of Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari to have worked passionately from home all along.  As lockdown restrictions were relaxed after a few months, he resumed visiting the record office of LPB, a pi...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi   (Pakistan News & Features Services) Mian Mohammad Saeed, who was quietly serving the cause of Urdu literature for the past one decade, has passed away after protracted illness in his hometown Ahmed Pur East.  The family sources announced his death on the website of bio-bibliography.com which he had launched in 2012 and took care of it until the end of his life.  Mian Saeed was one of the two co-compilers of Jumbo Publishing’s famed title ‘Faiz Huay Hain Mar Kay Amar’ which was published in 2014. Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a noted scholar and researcher, was the other compiler of the first-ever Urdu publication of Jumbo Media Group.  Upon retirement from business, Mian Saeed displayed tremendous passion for research and literary pursuits. He was observed having spent days after days at the various libraries of Karachi to fuel his passion.  The establishment of a website www.bio-bibliography.com was a labour of h...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  (Pakistan News & Features Services) Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a renowned scholar and educationist, has reckoned that, contrary to general belief, reading habits among the masses has enhanced during the last four months of lockdowns, enforced to contain spreading of coronavirus (COVID-19).  “On the basis of feedback received from publishers and booksellers, I found it very heartening to note that reading of books has been one of the favourites pastimes of many people who had to be confined to their homes due to lockdown since the month of March,” she informed in a brief chat with PNFS at the Record Office of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB) on July 13.  “The credit also goes to publishers and publishers for having facilitated the readers during this tough period in particular. They have not only offered discounts but also improved their online services and arranged for the delivery of books at doorstep of their customers,” Prof Dr Nas...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) The second edition of a book, chronicling the illustrious career of the legendary philosopher and poet, Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal, titled ‘Aina Ayyam-e-Iqbal’ has recently been published by the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB).  The book has been authored by Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a former chairperson of the Library and Information Science department of the University of Karachi, while eminent intellectuals Dr Moinuddin Aqeel and Dr Farman Fatehpuri have contributed its foreword and preface respectively.  The first edition of the book was published during the year of 1977 when the centennial birth anniversary was being celebrated with tremendous enthusiasm throughout Pakistan.  The second edition of ‘Aina Ayyam-e-Iqbal’ is spread over 160 pages and the cover price of one copy of the book in Pakistan is Rs 350. ‘Aina Ayyam-e-Iqbal’ covers highlights of the personal, professional and political life of the Poet of t...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Another book on Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a former chairperson of the Library & Information Science department at the University of Karachi, has recently been published under the auspices of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB).  The 132-page book titled ‘Dr Nasim Fatima: Bio-Bibliographical Study’ has been edited by one of her students, Huma Mannan Butt, with Abdul Qudoos and Saima Qadeer being the compilers while the foreword has been penned by Syed Khalid Mahmood.  “She was my teacher and chairperson at Department of Library and Information Science, University of Karachi. She is an asset to the Pakistan librarianship. Widely respected, she has had the quality of respecting each individual to have come across her,” Huma Mannan, now working as Chief Librarian at PN Central Library in Karachi, wrote in her introductory remarks in the book. “Dr Nasim Fatima has had a tremendous academic record th...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Following is the text of the foreword, penned by Syed Khalid Mahmood, to the recently published book ‘Dr Nasim Fatima: Bio-Bibliographical Study’ highlighting the accomplishments of the prolific library scientist: “No hard-and-fast rules about forewords, allowing room to be creative and even have some fun, makes the task of penning my maiden foreword simpler than it could have been otherwise for a firm believer and practitioner of out-of-box thinking!  Indeed it’s a great honour to be asked to write the foreword to such a significant book, bringing to light the accomplishments of Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, the famed library scientist, teacher, scholar, researcher, writer, author, editor and mentor, yet one of the unsung heroes.  Her multi-faceted personality has been talked about with great awe over the years but she hasn’t been granted the kind of recognition she so richly deserved. On the contrar...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Jawaid Anwar, Chancellor, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, warmly welcomed Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari and Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, two of the most prolific library science scholars of the country, who called on him at the campus on April 6. The SSUET Chancellor wholeheartedly congratulated the duo for their accomplishments in the field of library science, particularly their contribution in running the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB) for more than 50 years.  “You have done an exceptional service to the nation. Your scholastic brilliance has inspired and motivated a lot of people of various generations. You have not only enriched the arena of library science but you have also made a significant contribution to Urdu literature. Your achievements merit wider recognition,” the Chancellor complimented.  “It’s really marvelous that you have continued working with m...