College and Research Libraries SYED JALALUDDIN HAIDER University Libraries in Pakistan The development of university libraries in Pakistan is , summarized: with a discussion of the current status of such libraries, including consideration of library organization, resources, organization of col- lections and cataloging, services to readers, and library staff. Major problems impeding improvement of library service are also discussed -the chief problem one of adequate financial support. THE CONCEPT OF MODERN LIBRARIANSHIP in the territories now constituting Pak- istan dates back to 1915 when Asa Don Dickinson, an American librarian, was invited by the University of Pan jab to organize its library on modern lines and to teach newer library methods to li- brarians in the province of Panjab. The institution of such instruction for the first time within the walls of a univer- sity in British India may be termed the beginning of the library profession in this part of the world. Similarly, the in- troduction of several modern methods by Dickinson, while reorganizin~ the uni- versity library, may be called the begin- ning of academic library service in the subcontinent of India and Pakistan. Some methods introduced included adoption of the Dewey Decimal Classi- fication and introduction of the main entry concept, the card catalog, and the dictionary catalog. This establishment of a library edu- cation program had a great influence on the development of libraries and the li- brary profession in the whole of British India. Alumni of the program found their way to all parts of British India. A number of other significant develop- Syed ] alaluddin Haider is visiting profes- sor of library science, Faculty of Educa- tion, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. ments took place during this period in the city of Lahore, the site of the Uni- versity of Pan jab: the Pan jab Library Association was formed in 1916; the first manual on librarianship, Panfab Li- brary Primer, was published in the same year by the university; the first All India Library Conference was held at Lahore in 1918; and the first professional jour- nal, Modern Librarian, began publica- tion here in 1930. But, these achievements notwithstand- ing, the climate for library development in the academic institutions of British India was not favorable. The reason may be found in the textbook-oriented teaching method used by institutions of higher education at that time. Even af- ter independence in 1947 the education- al system of British India remained in force. Change occurred only in the 1960s when a new concept-quality in education-began to gain ground. This basic change in educational philosophy brought with it an overall consciousness of the need for improved academic li- brary service. The need for better li- braries had also been recognized in the several documents of the provincial and central governments as well as in reports of various national commissions. For ex- ample, the report of the Commission on National Education in 1959 stated: "Ev- ery college and university should have a library large enough to act as a work- / 379 380 I College & Research Libraries • September 197 5 room where all students are able to study privately during off periods and outside college hours." Further, empha- sizing the importance of the library in the university, it noted: "The library is at the very heart of the idea of the uni- versity, and . . . books with which it is stocked, librarians who serve in it, and the kind of use which students make of it should reveal the extent to which it is discharging its real function." 1 Some significant library developments which had an impact on academic li- brary development included: (a) the in- stitution of the Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Librarianship at the Univer- sity of Karachi (1956); (b) the fonna- tion of the Pakistan Library Associa- tion ( 1957) and other professional or- ganizations at the provincial and region- al levels; (c) the publication of the Pakistan Library Review ( 1958) as a professional medium of communica- tion; (d) the establishment of the N a- tiona! Book Center of Pakistan ( 1961); (e) the institution of the Master's Pro- gram in Library Science at the U niver- sity of Karachi ( 1962); (f) the enact- ment of a copyright law ( 1962); and (g) the establishment of the National Bibliographical Unit ( 1962). A number of other general factors n1ay also be cited: (a) the political and economic stability of the country; (b) the tremendous increase in the enroll- ment of the universities; (c) the estab- lishment of new universities and expan- sion of older ones; and (d) the chang- ing objective of higher education. To achieve this objective, universities were to provide competent human resources for national development and to under- take research projects to further the economic and social development of Pakistan. The following survey of university library service in Pakistan and the prob- lems which have retarded the libraries in reaching their fullest potential is based, for the most part, on the observa- tions and experience of this author. 2 A SURVEY OF UNIVERSITY LmRARIES Excluding the University of Panjab, whose origin dates from 1882, the uni- versities in Pakistan and their libraries are the product of the postindepen- dence period. At present there are eight universities in Pakistan with a total stu- dent body of 25,000 students and more than 3,000 faculty members and re- search staff. All the universities are both teaching and, with the exception of the University of Islamabad and two pro- fessional universities, affiliating bodies. In general, the universities in Pakistan are responsible for graduate and post- graduate studies. Usually a general uni- versity has arts, science, and other fac- ulties divided into departments for principal subjects. These provide courses in the arts, social sciences, phys- ical sciences, natural sciences, law, medi- cine, etc. Most of the universities offer research degrees. Organization All universities in Pakistan, with the exception of the University of Baluch- istan where the library is in the process of being established, have provision for some kind of library service. The tradi- tion of a central library along with de- partmental/ seminar libraries outside the central organization is the most fa- vored form of structure at present. The only exceptions are the Universities of Karachi and Islamabad. At Karachi col- lections and services have been brought together in one building. On the other hand, the library at Islamabad has been organized on a decentralized basis, de- spite the existence of a central library which retains primary responsibility for acquisition and processing of materials. Resources With respect to size of collections, the university libraries in Pakistan are somewhat similar to medium-size college libraries in the United States. The Pan- jab University Library (once enjoying the honor of being the leading univer- sity library in the Indo-Pakistan subcon- tinent) has a collection of 250,000 vol- umes, including 18,000 manuscripts in Oriental languages, and is the country's leading library. The next largest is the Karachi University Library, established in 1951. It has a collection of 200,000 volumes, including back runs of period- icals, and 5,000 microforms of rare and out-of-print materials. The University of Sind at · Hyderabad, founded a short time before independence, has recently reached a total of 110,000 volumes. The libraries of the Universities of Pesha- war ( 1950) and Islamabad ( 1965) and the two professional universities ( 1961) range in size between 75,000 and 100,000 volumes. The combined resources of all the university libraries in the country total approximately 800,000 volumes. The majority of books, nearly 75 to 80 per- cent, are in English, primarily American and British publications, followed by books in the national language (Urdu) and other languages (Persian, Arabic, and regional languages). In terms of major disciplines represented in the col- lections, the scientific and technological subjects are preeminent, followed by the humanities, social sciences, and his- tory. Organization of the Collections For the organization of their re- sources, the libraries employ the Dewey Decimal Classification with some modi- fications for Oriental topics, such as Islamic Philosophy, Islam, and Oriental languages, literature, and history. The expansion of the Dewey classification, prepared by M. Shafi in cooperation with the Department of Library Science of Karachi University, is the most wide- ly used. Both dictionary and classified cata- logs are in existence, but the majority University Libraries in Pakistan I 381 do employ a classified catalog. The An- glo-American Cataloging Rules ( 1967) are followed. Because of the absence of a national cataloging code in a true sense, there are great problems in the cataloging of Oriental materials. Cata- loguing of Pakistani Names, by Anis Khurshid, is used by the majority of university libraries for cataloging of publications by Pakistani authors at present. 3 Generally, a separate catalog, in Arabic script, is maintained for Oriental books. Services for Readers Usual library services include: prepa- ration of bibliographies and list of cur- rent acquisitions; interlibrary loan; ex- change programs with other libraries and research organizations; maintenance of clipping and pamphlet files; provi- sion of photocopy service and micro- filming of rare materials; answering in- quiries; help to students in the use of materials; and organization of lectures and exhibitions. On the basis of observations, it may be concluded that an average Pakistani student makes more use of the library at present than did his predecessor. This may be due to the change in the tradi- tional educational method as well as the improved services offered by the librar- ies. Like students, the younger members of the faculty, particularly those edu- cated in the United States and Great Britain, use the libraries more frequent- ly and more extensively than did their predecessors. The greatest obstacle to li- brary use is the closed stack system in effect. The Library Staff The importance of a qualified staff as one requirement for the improve- ment of libraries cannot be overempha- sized. There was an acute shortage of qualified manpower in the field in the early years after the birth of Pakistan. For example, the Panjab University Li- - - - - - --- ------ 382 I College & Research Libraries • September 1975 brary, the largest library in the country, remained without a single professional librarian for many years. But, with the institution of courses leading to the master's degree in library science, there is now no shortage of qualified librari- ans, at least for secondary positions. Each year there are 150 new holders of the Post-Graduate Diploma and 50 new graduates with the master's degree, and this is sufficient for the time being. But the location of competent individuals to hold top administrative positions is a major problem. For example, the Uni- versity of Islamabad has not been able to find a suitable university librarian for the past five years. Similar situations are true for the University of Engineer- ing and Technology, Lahore, and the University of Baluchistan, Quetta. Another manpower problem faced by the academic libraries is the ''brain- drain." Some of the nation's best li- brarians have left their jobs and are now working in the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Others are trying to leave the country for better opportunities else- where. This is primarily because of the low salaries and low status attached to this profession, despite the best efforts of librarians and their professional or- ganizations. However, in the Education Policy, announced by the government in March 1972, granting of faculty sta- tus has been recommended for the first time to the professional staff working in academic libraries.4 But for a num- ber of reasons the recommendation has not been implemented in full. Physical Facilities The existing university libraries, with the exception of those at Peshawar, Ka- rachi, and Sind, do not have their own permanent buildings. This remains one of the major obstacles to the expansion and introduction of modem and newer services. This need has been felt partic- ularly in recent years, and new library buildings are included in the master plans for the new campuses at some uni- versities. It is expected that within the next ten years all university libraries will have their own permanent quarters. MAJOR PROBLEMS University libraries in Pakistan face a number of problems, and the follow- ing are the most significant. Inadequacy of Collections In recent years the university librar- ies have come to feel the inadequacy of their resources to meet the needs of the growing instructional and research pro- grams of the universities. The evalua- tion of the collections in certain sub- jects, even at the universities with the largest collections, by students in the M.A. course in library science, has re- vealed the existence of obsolete materi- als, unnecessary duplication of titles, and gaps in periodical holdings. The coverage of current periodical literature presents a more gloomy picture; for ex- ample, the Karachi University Library has the largest periodical list-1,200 ti- tles; whereas other libraries receive from 200 to 700 titles. Dearth of Textbooks In advanced countries students are ex- pected to purchase their own textbooks, but in Pakistan the students cannot .af- ford to do so because of their poverty. Therefore, libraries are compelled to allocate a portion of their meager bud- gets for this purpose. In .answer to this problem, the Karachi University Li- brary, with the financial assistance of the Asia Foundation, established the Book-Bank Service in 1964. Through this service books are lent to students for the entire academic year at a nominal charge. The example furnished by Ka- rachi has been followed at Panjab and Peshawar. Difficulties in Acquisitions Due to low book production and the absence of an organized book trade in the country, libraries in Pakistan buy about 70 percent of required books from abroad-either directly as in the case of university and research librar- ies, or for college and other small li- braries through local booksellers. Prob- lems encountered include nonavailabil- ity of selection aids, import restrictions, postal and customs formalities, and con- version rates if procured through local booksellers. In procuring books produced locally, main problems include absence of selec- tion aids, nonappearance of the current national bibliography regularly, and the lack of subject bibliographies and pub- lishers' catalogs. · Financial Support This is the most serious problem at the present time because of the coun- try's own economic problems during the last several years. The absence of suffi- cient funds has badly affected the qual- ity of resources, particularly in the pro- curement of books from abroad. A comparison of figures for univer- sity libraries reveals that usually the amount allocated for the library in the universities ranged between 100,000 and 250,000 rupees (approximately $10,000 to $25,000 U.S.). This sum does not in- clude library salaries. In some universi- ties there is no separate budget for the library; instead, it forms a part of "the publications fund" for the institution. Interinstitutional Cooperation The importance of library coopera- tion in a developing country like Pak- istan cannot be overemphasized; but, with the exception of interlibr-ary loan, University Libraries in Pakistan I 383 there is no cooperation. Even the opera- tion of interlibrary loan on a wider scale has been impeded because of the absence of a union catalog and an inter- library loan code. The major areas for cooperation among libraries at the pres- ent are: cooperative acquisitions based on subject specialization (with particu- lar reference to acquisition of period- icals) among university libraries; com- pilation of a union catalog and union list of serials; development of a storage center for manuscripts and rare books; and the establishment of bibliograph- ical centers at regional levels. CONCLUSION Despite all their limitations, univer- sity libraries in Pakistan are in better condition than other types of libraries. The chief deterrent to their develop- ment has always been the lack of mon- ey. The improvement of library service in Pakistan is more closely linked to the country's economy than in any other de- veloping country. However, with the economic reforms introduced in the country within the last two years, it is hoped that conditions will improve. An- other step taken by the present govern- ment, which may mean improvement and expansion in library service, was the issuance of the Education Policy in March 1972. This policy covers many areas related to library services and li- brary resources; and one may hope that, .along with the general improvement and expansion in the educational and research facilities in the country, uni- versity libraries in Pakistan will also face a better future. REFERENCES 1. Pakistan Ministry of Education, Report of the Commission on National Education (Karachi: Manager of Publications, 1960), p.65. 2 . Syed J alaluddin Haider and Akthar Rani£, "University Libraries," in Studies in Pakistan Librarianship (Karachi: Librarians Forum, 1971 ), p.29-42. Syed Jalaluddin Haider, "Science-Technology Libraries in Pakistan," Special Libraries 65:474-78 ( Oct./Nov. 1974). 3. Anis . Khurshid, Cataloguing of Pakistani Names (Karachi: University of Karachi Li- brary Science Dept., 1964). 4. Pakistan Ministry of Education, The Educa- tion Policy, 1972- 1980 (Islamabad: The Ministry, 1972).