Islamabad
Concerned on the fading trend of book reading, the Balochistan government has planned to establish Digital Library at Government Girls Post Graduate College Quetta Cantt to persuade youth back to book reading. Talking to APP, an official of the Balochistan government on Monday said that the government in an effort to promote reading and trend of research, initiated opening E-library.
“The project costing Rs 39.603 million will help in increasing the book reading culture and enabling the youth to read online,” he added. He said that the digital library would be having a comprehensive data base comprising thousands of authentic books and over 10,000 E-books, magazines and publications. He said that the library had been planned to attract more readers and provide hassle free data. Even for more detailed and in-depth research, the library will be providing access to intricate material without any licensing restrictions, associated costs and free of copyright.
“This will help to groom the students’ skills when they at any platform will represent the country at international level,” he said. He further said two new libraries would be opened in one month’s time at Satellite Town and Saryab road,Quetta. While highlighting the importance of book reading, he said libraries would not only encourage book reading culture among youth but would also prove beneficial in their capacity building so that they could compete with students of other provinces in education. The three libraries were located at New Library and Computer Center at Alamdar road and Public Library, Research Center at Spini Road and Quaid e Azam library, Quetta, he said.
He said these libraries had the capacity to fulfill the need of Quetta’s 30 million people. “We aim to build more libraries in Quetta and at every district of Balochistan in order to eliminate illiteracy,” he said. “Over the years libraries had been playing a crucial role in the ideological development of societies and also help to eliminate the criminal and subversive activities,” he said. Muhammad Imran, a senior librarian of Quaid e Azam library, Quetta said the library was built with a capacity to accommodate 450 people but it receives more than a thousand visitors’ daily including students and researchers.—APP
