Bazm-e-Akram lauds Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari

Pakistan News & Features Services

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President, Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, and Founder Chief Editor, Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), was showered with praise in the annual get-together of the Bazm-e-Akram at Liaquat National Library, Karachi, on June 1.

Having relocated in North America a few years ago, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari has made a point of visiting Pakistan everywhere and he has been editing the PLISJ besides publishing the LPB books even from there. 

He has a massive fan following in the community of Library and Informative Science throughout Pakistan and he is considered a living legend of the field, having a lot of admirers abroad as well. The Bazm-e-Akram was founded in 1976 by a group of his former students whom he taught at the University of Karachi.

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a former Chairperson of the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Karachi, has been the livewire of the forum. She was in the forefront once more in organizing the annual get-together with the proactive support of Dr Amna Khatoon and Dr Nasreen Shagufta, both of them being her former students who went on to become successful library scientists. 

Their organizational capability was reflected in the grand success of the get-together in which the hall was packed to capacity with the pupils of Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari. The programme was conducted by Abdul Samad Ansari in a lively manner. 

All the speakers lavishly praised their beloved teacher and they proudly recalled their cherished memories with him over the years. They vowed to keep his mission alive by following in his footsteps. 

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari remained as modest as ever in his speech on the occasion. He advised his students to remember the services of the founders of the LIS movement in Pakistan like Prof Dr Abdul Moid instead of continuing to hold programmes in his honour. 

“Prof Dr Abdul Moid had founded the LIS department at the University of Karachi. His contributions to the field of library science need to be recalled again and again to inspire the modern generation. His accomplishments were far too many and we should not forget him,” he suggested. 

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari expressed the hope that the new generation of LIS professionals will work with greater enthusiasm to keep pace with the advancements in the technology. 

“I strongly believe that we don’t lack talent. But we need guidance and leadership. Our library scientists are energetic and willing. Let’s strive to provide them the resources and the environment to let their talents unfold,” he concluded.

Bazm-e-Akram to be expanded beyond library scientists: Prof Dr Nasim Fatima

Pakistan News & Features Services

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a former Chairperson of the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Karachi, has announced that the Bazm-e-Akram, founded initially by a group of dedicated library scientists, will now be expanded to include eminent persons from the various fields having an inclination towards the book culture.

Credited for having kept the group of like-minded library scientists intact for decades, she felt that it’s about time that the Bazm-e-Akram was transformed into worthwhile institution. 

“Whatever we could do with the meager resources at our disposal we have done it for the Bazm-e-Akram which is currently just a group of students taught by the legendary Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari. The feeling has now grown that we need to spread his mission,” Prof Dr Nasim Fatima observed during his speech in the annual get-together of the Bazm-e-Akram held at the Liaquat Memorial Library, Karachi, on June 1.

“We have managed to keep the mission of our beloved teacher alive by hosting get-togethers and bringing out a magazine yearly by the name of Adab-o-Kutub Khana which is a collection of poetic and prose contributions from the members of the Bazm-e-Akram,” she remarked, adding that the 2013 edition of Adab-o-Kutub Khana would be published in a few months time. 

She paid glowing tribute to Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President, Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, and Founder Chief Editor, Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), for continued guidance and support to his large number of students in every possible manner. 

The Bazm-e-Akram, a forum named after Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, was founded in 1976 with Adil Usmani being its Founder President. 

The Bazm-e-Akram has nearly 60 members which include Mohammad Wasil Usmani, Abdul Wahab Khan Saleem, Dr Rafia Ahmed Shaikh, Abdul Samad Ansari, Dr Rais Ahmed Samdani, Dr Mohammad Fazil Khan, Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, Dr Amna Khatoon, Dr Nasreen Shagufta, Zainuddin Siddiqui, Syed Abad Ali, Dr Khadim Khams, Dr Shafqat Mokhari, Rafia Hasan Abidi, Sibte Haider Naseeri, Noor Amrohvi, Huma Mannan Butt, Nazia Mukhtar, Hina Naz, Syed Ahmed Naqvi, Azra Qureshi, Ikram-ul-Haq, Fatima Hasni Khayal, Dr Nigar Sajjad Zaheer, Dr Moinuddin Aqeel, Dr Mughees Ahmed, Dr Shama Aziz, Jamaluddin Akhtar, Syed Ateeb Ahmed, Aamir Subhani, Saima Qadeer, Farzana Abbas, Syeda Najma Sultana, Naheed Jahan, Nuzhat Bano Siddiqui, Abida Sultana, Dr Shamshad Ahmed and Noor Mustafa Khan.

Yale Publishing Course participants to be enlightened by eminent professionals

Pakistan News & Features Services

Cynthia Leive, Michael Jacobs, Kim Kelleher, Matt Sanchez and Richard Foster will be among the eminent speakers in the Yale Publishing Course 2013 to be organized at the prestigious Yale University in July.

   

The course of Leadership Strategies in Magazine & Digital Publishing will be held from July 14 to 19 the course of Leadership Strategies in Book Publishing will be taking place from July 21 to 26. The deadline for submitting applications in both the programmes is June 7. 

The 2013 programme sessions will include topics such as ‘How to Edit a Brand: What the Job of a Magazine Editor Means Today’ to be done by Cynthia Leive, Editor-in-Chief, Glamour. 

Michael Jacobs, President and CEO, Abrams Books, will do the session on ‘Disruption: Leading and Learning to Love it’ while ‘Bridging Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley: Building a Modern Global Media Company’ will be taken care of by Kim Kelleher, President, Say Media, and Matt Sanchez, CEO and Co-founder, Say Media, and Richard Foster, Lecturer, Yale School of Management, will speak on the subject of ‘Creative Destruction in Publishing.’

   

Tina Weiner, Director, YPC, and Amy Shah, Communications Officer, International Affairs, Yale University, have remained preoccupied in promoting the upcoming courses in which the enrollment is limited to 70 participants per programme. 

The YPC has largely been attended by CEOs, publishers, managers, editors, designers from around the world as it has offered an innovative and practical curriculum taught by industry leaders and faculty from the Yale School of Management. 

The YPC has lived to the promise of providing an invaluable worldwide network made up of past participants and speakers, having accorded the participants one-on-one access to speakers through office hours.

St Joseph College celebrate World Book and Copyright Day 2013

Pakistan News & Features Services

St Joseph Women College, Karachi, one of the most prestigious educational institutions of the country, celebrated the World Book and Copyright Day 2013 in a befitting manner by holding a programme, with the collaboration of the Pakistan Library Club (PLC), at their campus.

   

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President, Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, and Founder Chief Editor, Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), was the chief guest on the occasion. 

Agha Masood Hussain, a former Sindh Minister and a renowned journalist, Mohammad Wasim Zia, Lecturer, University of Karachi and Mumtaz Memon, former Chief Librarian, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET) were the other guests of honour who shared their views with the audience. 

All the learned speakers were unanimous in highlighting the importance of celebrating the World Book and Copyright Day, hoping that such initiatives will be helpful in awakening educationists, administrators, leaders and library authorities. 

Samreen Fatima, Chief Librarian, St. Joseph's Women College, delivered a comprehensive presentation, starting with the theme of the World Book and Copyright Day 2013 ‘Reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright’ and following it up with the aims and objects of the day.

   

“The World Book Day is a celebration. It’s a celebration of authors, translators, books and most importantly it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world,” she emphasized. 

Samreen Fatima described the World Book Day as a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. 

“The success of the World Book and Copyright Day depends primarily on the support received from all parties concerned: authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media,” she noted.

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari undertakes whirlwind tour of Punjab universities

Pakistan News & Features Services

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President, Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, and Founder Chief Editor, Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ) recently undertook a whirlwind tour of the Punjab during which he visited the universities in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sagodha, Multan, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.

 

The LPB President, having relocated in North America a few years ago, is in Pakistan these days. He has returned to his hometown Karachi after spending nearly two weeks in the northern areas of the country. 

“The purpose of my visit was to interact with the library scientists who have generally been doing well under the guidance of their teachers,” Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, one of the pioneers of LIS education in Pakistan, remarked in an interview with the PNFS. 

“The LIS profession in Pakistan is coming of age gradually and it’s gladdening to find the universities in different cities setting up LIS department which augurs very well for the future of the country,” he thought. 

“My first destination was Islamabad. From there I traveled to the various cities of Punjab by road. The journey remained as pleasant as the response I got at the LIS department of the universities I visited,” he added. 

“I held discussions with the chairpersons of the LIS departments and all of them recognized the importance of creating greater resources for carrying out research-oriented activities. They shared my vision of engaging the students in literary works to enhance their scholastic skills,” the LPB President revealed. 

“My trip concluded at Bahawalpur where I spent quite a few busy days. It was very heartening indeed to find so much LIS-related activities at the famous Islamia University where Dr Rubina Bhatti, as chairperson of the LIS department, has done a terrific job,” Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari complimented.

Latest issue of PLISJ arrives

Pakistan News & Features Services

The March-June 2013 issue (Volume 44, Number 2) of the Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), a quarterly publication of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, has arrived.

 

The LPB President, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who is also the Chief Editor of the PLISJ, during his current stay in Karachi, has been personally overseeing the distribution process of the scholarly journal and he has tried to ensure that the concerned institutions as well as the individuals were promptly delivered the latest issue. 

“It’s very heartening to note that some of our professional libraries are active and vigorous in promoting and introducing library activities to our people. The World Books Day was celebrated by the University libraries of Bahawalpur, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar. Book Walks were arranged in university campuses in which the students and the faculty members participated in large number. It’s first time when library facilities and services were introduced at campuses. If such celebrations are carried out in public places those will attract common people’s attention and awareness about libraries and their services,” Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari wrote in the editorial. 

The research articles having been published in the latest issue of PLISJ include Reviewing the Gold: Old publications of Pakistan Bibliographical Working Group by Dr Mumtaz Anwar, Approach towards social media of LIS students, Islamia University of Bahawalpur by Dr Rubina Bhatti and Aman Amjad, Skills requirement for library professionals in Pakistan by Ghulam Mustafa and Munira Nasreen Ansari, Myths and imaginaries of information age: A critical view by Asad Khan, and CIIT Islamabad campus library collection: Comprehensive study-present, past and future by Tariq Mahmood and Raja Mohammad Ibrahim.

E L James's Fifty Shades of Grey boosts book trade enormously

Pakistan News & Features Services

E L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey has turned out to be the perfect tonic the book trade needed at a critical time.

 

According to reports, the blend of romance and erotica has helped to drag the book trade out of the doldrums, with new statistics showing that 2011's decline in sales has been reversed and a record amount was spent on books in 2012. 

The rise in the book trade's fortunes was driven by digital developments, with total digital sales up by 66% to £411m in 2012, and total fictionebook sales up by 149% to £172m, according to the figures released by the Publishers Association. 

The trade body has disclosed that the digital book formats, audiobook downloads, online subscriptions and ebooks, accounted for 12% of the total invoiced value of book sales, up from 8% in 2011 and 5% in 2010. In 2011, print sales fell as digital rose leading to an overall decline in the market of 2% to £3.2bn. In 2012, physical book sales were down by 1%, but the digital success meant the book market grew by 4% overall, reaching a record-breaking £3.3bn. 

   

"The fact is that the vast majority of books sold in the UK are print books. These figures are reassuring, reminding us what we know that people are still buying physical books and that, while obviously the take-up in ebooks has been significant, a lot of it is new custom, rather than replacing physical sales,” Jon Howells at Waterstones observed. 

"We said from the beginning that ebooks were giving people another approach to reading, just as they have already got now when they listen to music or watch television," he added. 

The recovery was led by the British public's insatiable appetite for erotica, with James's three Fifty Shades titles taking the top three spots in the print chart in 2012, according to figures from Nielsen BookScan. 

The first novel in the trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, sold 4.46m copies last year, the second sold 3.16m and the third 2.9m. Although there are, as yet, no official ebook charts, Fifty Shades of Grey also topped the Bookseller magazine's analysis of the bestselling ebooks of 2012, selling 1,609,626 copies, according to the magazine. 

James' unprecedented success meant she became the first author to be named publishing person of the year by US book trade magazine Publishers Weekly.