Political and Professional Inputs in Public Library Development in Pakistan

The author painstaking traces the chequered history of public library development in Pakistan. He attributes it to the mindset of our politicians and bureaucrats who are feudal in origin and who attach little importance to public library system in the country. With the help of documents like National Plans, reports of individual foreign librarians invited by the Government from time to time, Provincial Acts and articles specially contributed on the subject by Adil Usmani and Jalaluddin Haider, the writer draws a dismal picture to-date. The height of achievement would be the establishment of Punjab Public Library Foundation with a substantial revolving capital. This Foundation came into being during army rule but our civilian governments had little time to give any attention to nation-building activities. The library leadership is to be equally blamed. It seems that the professional leadership did not understand the stratagem of political and bureaucratic culture of the country. The author laments that public good and social welfare are never on the agenda of such politicians and hence public libraries mean nothing in such a politico-social milieu.