Book of food poetry launched in England

Jumbo Editorial Team

The bookworms got a taste of poetry of a different kind at the launch of ‘Flavoured as Much as Coloured: 13 Poems About Food’ which is the latest anthology from independent Lancashire publisher Clitheroe Books Press.

The anthology, edited by Jo Harding and Theresa Robson, features original work celebrating food by eminent writers from all over the UK. 

It was launched at a reading at the Atrium Café, Clitheroe Castle, when contributors read from their work. 

The anthology features work by Rachel Davies, who has an MA Poetry with distinction from Manchester Metropolitan University, where she studied under leading poets of the day, including Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage. Also among the contributors is former journalist Maureen Fenton, of Clitheroe, whose poem of the same name gives the anthology its title. 

The cover features an original wood engraving, Mr and Mrs Jack Sprat, by British artist Jonathan Gibbs, who studied at the Central School of Art and Design and the Slade School of Fine Art, and exhibits regularly in the UK, recently in a solo show entitled Tree at my Window at the Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh.

“When J.R.R. Tolkien said ‘if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world’, perhaps he had Ribble Valley in mind,"  Jo Harding, who runs second-hand bookshop Clitheroe Books which hosts readings, book launches and book signing, stated.

"The landscape around Stonyhurst College reputedly provided inspiration for The Shire in his Lord of the Rings and it was to the local hostelries he almost certainly turned for sustenance and inspiration,” he added. 

He has been writing and teaching poetry for 30 years explained. “Contributors to this anthology have similarly found plenty in local food, as well as food from across the continents and throughout the ages, to inspire them,” Harding reckoned.

.

“From the humble snail in Philip Burton’s Rhapsody in Brown to the ‘cream cracker surprise’ of Rachel Davies’ On First Tasting Crumbly Lancashire, poetry enthusiasts who attended the reading found plenty to whet their appetites,” Theresa Robson remarked. 

Clitheroe Books Press has published two previous anthologies ‘Slip Through the Silence: Facing Adversity with Verse’ (2008) and ‘Here is Where the Candy Sticks: Poems About Shopping in Clitheroe’ (2010). The next anthology ‘The House at Black Moss: 13 Poems Commemorating the Lancashire Witches’ is due to be published in October.

Sharif Khan’s Psychology of the Hero Soul becomes bestseller

Jumbo Editorial Team

The Toronto-based Sharif Khan is an acclaimed speaker and freelance writer whose book titled ‘Psychology of the Hero Soul’ has become a bestseller. It’s recognized as an inspirational book on awakening the hero within and developing leadership potential. Based on research in human development spanning many years, the book has been mentioned in reputed publications like Reader's Digest, USA Today, Toronto Sun and New Consciousness Review.

‘Psychology of the Hero Soul’ was chosen as an ‘Independent Publisher Highlighted Title’ pick by IndependentPublisher.com's editorial staff who review some of the best books in the industry that demonstrate publishing excellence in creativity, originality, and quality. 

It has been acclaimed as an excellent book which is considered very inspiring and motivating. 

As President of the Diamond Mind Enterprises, an organization devoted to helping people live heroically, he has dedicated over ten years research to the field of human development and leadership. 

Based on his own research, he has been providing high-quality keynotes and leadership development seminars that empower audiences to unleash their inner-hero potential for higher success.

He has become one of the most sought after public speakers, having acquired the expertise of sharing his experiences to a wide-range of audiences including executives, entrepreneurs, educators, and students. 

Sharif has been working with missionary zeal in an effort to inspire the world and make a positive difference in people's lives; to help create a global culture of heroes and responsible citizens dedicated to promoting peace and prosperity in the world. 

For his pioneering efforts in teaching people how to become heroes in all areas of their lives, Sharif was accepted into the In Search of Heroes ‘Heroes Hall of Fame’ a programme for recognizing the heroic contributions of top copywriters, marketing experts, and media professionals. 

Besides being a motivational speaker, Sharif is also a successful freelance writer helping companies and individuals develop a wide-range of content through his professional copywriting services. 

He frequently writes articles on Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Success, and serves as a book consultant to authors. 

After graduating with an honors B.A. in Psychology from York University, Sharif served as General Manager of a Bestsellers Bookstore Franchise, followed by over five years of various sales and marketing roles within the I.T. industry, and is a former Director of the MetroActive Writers Club.

PLA’s Federal Branch to hold National Conference in November

Jumbo Editorial Team 

The Federal Branch of the Pakistan Library Association (PLA), with the collaboration of the Department of Libraries, Government of Pakistan, has announced to hold a national conference on ‘Career Development for Library and Information Science Professionals in Pakistan’ in Islamabad from November 12 to 14.

Syed Ghyour Hussain, Secretary PLA (FB) and Director, National Library of Pakistan, has disclosed that they have acquired the services of eminent professors and scholars of library and information science to act as member of the Papers Evaluation Committee. 

Dr Khalid Mahmood, Department of LIS, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr Rubina Bhatti, Department of LIS, Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Dr Mohammad Rafique, Department of LIS, University of Sargodha, Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Department of LIS, University of the Punjab, Lahore, and Dr Haroon Idrees, Islamic International University, Islamabad, constitute the Papers Evaluation Committee with Mohammad Jawwad, Lecturer, Department of LIS, AIOU, Islamabad, selected to act as Coordinator/Secretary of the Committee. 

The last date for receipt of abstract for the conference is September 14 whereas full text papers will be received on or before October 15.

Meanwhile the PLA (FB), in its meeting held on July 24, also formed a Media Committee in order to keep closer liaison with electronic and print media for highlighting the issues related to libraries and librarianship. 

The Media Committee of the PLA (FB) comprises of Midrarullah, Librarian, NUST, Army Medical College, Tariq Mahmood, Deputy Librarian, COMSATS, Islamabad, Khurram Shahzad, MAJU, Islamabad, and Bushra Nazli, Librarian, PIPS, Islamabad. 

The newly elected office-bearers of the PLA (FB) have already shown a lot of enthusiasm and energy with the commissioning of the Media Committee being a significant step to share their activities with the vast arena outside the profession of library and information science.

Record exhibitor participation in Hong Kong Book Fair 2012

Jumbo Editorial Team 

The 23rd annual HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair 2012, held from July 19 to 24, attracted some 900,000 visitors during its week-long run. This was despite the early closure and late opening on a couple of days due to the typhoon that hit Hong Kong.

More than 530 exhibitors from 23 countries and regions, a new exhibitor record, took part in the book fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers and service providers, who appointed independent survey consultancy Nielsen to conduct a survey at the fairground to understand visitor consumption and reading patterns. 

The survey found out that 87 per cent of the participants had attended the Hong Kong Book Fair more than once. About half the tourists interviewed said that they had come to Hong Kong just to attend the Book Fair, and almost 90 per cent said they would come again next year.

 

The most popular books were fiction (52 per cent), followed by literature (24 per cent), travel (24 per cent), comics (23 per cent), and children's books (21 per cent). The most popular pavilion was the General Books Pavilion (92 per cent), followed by the Taiwan Publishing Community (84 per cent), Teen's World (82 per cent) and the Multimedia & Stationery Zone (81 per cent). 

More than 70 per cent of the respondents said that the Art Gallery, English Avenue and Children's Paradise were attractive. More than 300 cultural activities were held at this year's Book Fair, attracting 160,000 participants, an increase of 23 per cent over last year.

The Renowned Writers Seminar, hosted by Kenneth Pai Hsien-yung and Zi Zhong-yun, and the English Reading and Creative Writing Seminar, hosted by Indian novelist Chebat Bhagat, proved particularly popular. 

The survey also reported that 46 per cent of the respondents hope that more "literature and film" activities can be added to the Book Fair next year. More than 30 per cent look forward to more reading events for "children and teens," as well as "exchanges among authors from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan." As for the participants' reading habits, according to the survey, over the past 12 months, their average spending on books was HK$1,654. More than 59 per cent of the respondents bought more than 10 books.

The survey also found that 94 per cent of respondents bought books at bookstores, 67 per cent at book fairs, 26 per cent from bookstands, and 19 per cent from online bookstores. 

In addition, 28 per cent of respondents said they had bought electronic books over the past year, with an average spending of HK$459. 

Some 98 per cent of respondents read books last month. Out of that, 75 per cent read more than 10 hours a month. 

General reading was mainly composed of fiction (64 per cent), travel (45 per cent), comics (38 per cent), and literature (33 per cent). Most book lovers (64 per cent) enjoy traditional Chinese books, followed by English books (19 per cent) and books in simplified Chinese (16 per cent).

Pritish Nandy’s book of tweet-sized poems launched in Mumbai

Jumbo Editorial Team 

Pritish Nandy, a journalist, filmmaker, painter and poet, launched his new book of poetry ‘Stuck On 1/Forty’ at Crossword Bookstore at Kemp's Corner in Mumbai on July 21 with tweet-sized poems in the tradition of 140-character long Twitter utterances.

This is Nandy's second book of poetry since his return from a two-decade long hiatus from the form. He had released his first book of poems in 2010. 

“I gave up the starkness of poetry, the frugality, the battle with words and images and switched to journalism," Nandy wrote in the introduction to his new book. 

The launch ceremony of ‘Stuck On 1/Forty’ came to life with the presence of actor Ranbir Kapoor, who alongwith Nandy, read out poems from the book and later spoke about them.

‘Stuck On 1/Forty’ consists of tweet-sized poems in the tradition of 140-character long Twitter so each poem can be tweeted. 

"One of the great disciplines of poetry has been how to structure it. I went with the simplest possible structure of today. That was the discipline of the poetry. It's not just the words," he reckoned.

I try to use the simplest words," Nandy responded to Kapoor's question on how he moulded his thoughts into words.

"The most important part of language is touching people. The problem with literature is it is treated as something academic, something that lies in a dusty library. Poems are about reaching out, touching lives," he elaborated.

Nandy, acclaimed as one of the most exciting and acclaimed Indian poets in English, brings his own unique style.

Kapoor, one of the leading Bollywood actors representing the new generation, was asked what he would like to be remembered as to which he replied that he would like to be remembered as a good dad, son and husband.

Versatility of young Natasha Iqbal Jozi reflected in Dawn 88

Jumbo Editorial Team 

The versatility of 24-year-old Natasha Iqbal Jozi is reflected in her unique collection of paintings, prints, drawings and poetry representing teenage angst and despair which was launched on at the Pakistan Academy of Letters in Islamabad on July 17.

The book was recognized as a rarity in several ways with the merging of art with blank verse, the subject matter and the young age of the author which could serve as an inspiration to the young folks of the country to take advantage of their resources and talent to create something both personal and social. 

The launching ceremony itself turned out to be quite an occasion with the presence of nearly 150 guests which included notable scholars and literary figures like Dr Fateh Mohammad Malik, Ejaz Rahim, Asim Akhtar and Farheen Chaudhry. 

“I believe this great poet Natasha can bring change in the country through her pen, sharing the triumphs and troubles of young people in Pakistan,” Dr Fateh Mohammad Malik noted.

Ejaz Rahim went even farther in praising Natasha comparing her style to that of the legendary William Wordsworth because of its sensitive handling of content and diction. 

Natasha’s father, Mohammad Iqbal Faheem, is also a writer and he was among the first people she showed her poetry to and it was due to his insistence that she considered publishing. 

She has been writing poetry from the age of 11, having been encouraged from the renowned literary figures like Kishwer Naheed, Iftikhar Arif, Shahid Nadeem and Abbas Rizvi.

She aimed to keep creative control over the layout of the collection, which had contributions from NCA designer Kareem Mohammad, and though she said it stretched out the publication process, it was well worth the wait, as she is pleased with the end product. 

“Writing poetry is something that I did naturally to cope with teenage angst and confusion. My poetry is a way to come to terms with the expansive dreams of a teenager set amidst the stark reality of limitations,” she observed. 

“Having all these senior writers commend my written work is a very humbling experience, I hope the rest of my readers will be as receptive,” Natasha added.

Fairytale launch celebrations of The Rolling Stones: 50 in London

Jumbo Editorial Team

It was a party to remember and cherish. The Rolling Stones stole the limelight in the launch of the Daily Mirror's book celebrating the band's 50th anniversary as Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards joined friends, family and celebrity guests at London's Somerset House over the weekend. The veteran group also joined forces to open the official photo exhibition running until August 27. 

50 years after first getting together, and with a combined age of 272, it seems the band still know how to have a good time at an age when most of us would rather relax with our ¬slippers on, the Rolling Stones showed that they can still party like 20-year-olds. 

Mick Jagger, 68, Charlie Watts, 71, Ronnie Wood, 65, and Keith Richards, 68, ordered endless bottles of wine and platters of food as they played cards until 5am in a private suite in London’s Dorchester Hotel. 

Sir Mick smiled at a 1964 photograph of himself draped around Keith. "Seeing this book is a real trip down memory lane. The photos are fantastic and I am delighted we agreed to be a part of this," he remarked. 

Drummer Charlie, who was the man originally behind the Rolling Stones 50 tome, also paid tribute to the project. 

"The quality of the pictures in the Mirror's archive, and the memories they brought back, were too good to ignore. It has been fantastic to look back through the past like this, and fifty years is another landmark for the Stones," he observed. 

Half a century after the group's first photoshoot at the legendary 60s haunt, the Marquee Club, the rockers are rumoured to be ready to tour again. 

They have reportedly met-up twice for rehearsals, fuelling speculation they will embark on a money-spinning 2013 world tour. The quartet last got together when they attended the premiere of Martin Scorsese's documentary Shine A Light in 2008. 

Curated, introduced and narrated by the band themselves, The Rolling Stones: 50 is the only officially authorised book to celebrate this milestone. 

With privileged access to a wealth of rare unseen material, the book is packed with superb photography, contact sheets, negatives strips, outtakes and much more from every period in the band’s history. With more than 1,000 illustrations, it also features rare Stones memorabilia. 

The contributions by legendary photo¬graphers Gered Mankowitz, Jean-Marie Périer, Dezo Hoffmann, Michael Cooper, Terry O’Neill, Bent Rej, Philip Townsend and many others make this the definitive celebration of 50 years of the Stones. 

This is one of those books the music lovers in particular cannot afford to live without. With a massive following of The Rolling Stones all over the world, the book should become a bestseller.

Numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi's book Sankhya Shastra launched in Mumbai

Jumbo Editorial Team

Apara Mehta, Poonam Dhillon and Amarr Upadhyay were the among the celebrities present to launch astrologer, numerologist, graphologist and gemologist Bhavikk Sangghvi's book ‘Sankhya Shastra’ at Crossword in Juhu, Mumbai, on July 13. Umesh Pherwani, Viren Shah, Parvez Damania, Delnaaz Paul, Sandip Soparrkar, Pitobash, Sonalli Sehgal and AD Singh were also present on the occasion.

In ‘Sankhya Shastra’ Sangghvi, a big name in astrology and numerology, narrates about the significance of numbers and how can they make or break one’s life. 

The book has been published by Times Group Books. ‘Sankhya Shashtra’ is being acclaimed as complete guide about numbers. This is more like a coffee table book.. 

Sangghvi revealed that Upadhyay is an astrologer and they often indulge in long chats on the topic. Mehta remarked that she has realised how numbers 2, 4 and 8 have always played a big role in her life.

Poonam Dhillon, one of the most famous actresses of Bolloywood, questioned the selection Friday the 13th to release his book. "This belief is mostly western. This date or number need not be bad for everyone," Sangghvi explained. 

‘Sankhya Shashtra’ is Gujarati version of Sangghvi's book ‘Numerology Rocks’ which was released a few months ago by the versatile actor Mithun Chakraborty.

“I was told to translate in regional language. As Gujarati is my mother tongue I chose that. Secondly at the age of 31 my community has given me a lot so it’s time to give back.” Sangghvi remarked. 

Sangghvi was praised for the initiative and the friends present in the launch ceremony were appreciative of his effort.

Sangghvi and his fiancée Dr. Rinku Aher were the perfect hosts who received all the guests. The event was anchored by popular comedian and actor Umaesh Pherwani.

 “After reading my book you may start believing in the magic that numbers create,” the celebrity numerologist concluded

With the presence of so many glittering personalities the photo-sessions continued for quite some time.

Sunaina Ahluwalia makes it big with release of An Autumn Melody

Jumbo Editorial Team 

The Muscat-based author, Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia, having come to the limelight with the publication of her first book ‘A Safe Harbour’ in 2009, has joined the big league with her third book ‘An Autumn Melody’ having been brought out by Rupa Publications, one of the leading Indian publishers. Her second book ‘Point of No Return’ was also a success story.

‘An Autumn Melody’ is the saga of the very rich, powerful and decadent society who are convinced that they can afford to dabble in just about anything, including murder, as they can easily get away with it. 

It tells us about Darshana’s journey through life, one which she manages, despite all the odds, along with the three men who play a key role in it. Kirat, her alcoholic husband, Robi Ghosh, a prizewinning photographer and Rizwan, her first and most intense love who waits for and watches over her, but always from a distance. 

 “Since its launch, the book has been receiving rave reviews which are a proof that it has been accepted by the readers. I have been receiving several calls of my readers who went through the book and the publishers too are overwhelmed with the response,” Sunaina Ahluwalia was quoted as saying.

Her first book ‘A Safe Harbour’ was a family-oriented story while the second one ‘Point of No Return’ was a thriller. She has talked about various aspects of social life in her third book ‘An Autumn Melody’ which proves her versatility as a writer. 

“I had realised that as a reader I have enjoyed different topics and authors and I should deliver the same to my readers as well,” she remarked. Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia, whose favourite authors include Colleen McCullough, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Margaret Mitchell, has been based in Muscat, the Sultanate of Oman for over two decades. 

She is basically a free-lance advertising and public relations professional who has maintained great passion for writing. 

“Writing certainly needs a certain amount of discipline. I set a minimum target of 1,000 words a day which could occupy two to three hours of my day. This would mean not attending phone calls, cut off from the net and emails and any other bustle. And having reading time is a must,” she explained in an interview

.

“I love travelling and meeting new people. Anything that gets me excited, I pour it into my books. My first book was based in India and Oman. Readers like variety, so there is nothing like knowing about a new place or reading about a place that you are very familiar with,” she added. 

Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia cares for the society and she is also into social service. 

“As a general manager of Omani Women’s Guild I squeeze for raising funds for charity. Time management is the essence when it comes to a woman like me who has her hands full. But my message to all the women out there is to be good receptors. Especially in a place like Oman where women are on par with men, women should be open to ideas and be generous in passing their knowledge and expertise. Only by doing that can we move forward as a nation and as individuals,” she noted.

UBL, Jang Group honour literary giants

Jumbo Editorial Team 

The Jang Group of Newspapers and United Bank Limited (UBL) presented awards to seven writers in both Urdu and English in different categories in a graceful ceremony held in Karachi on July 5.

Prof Sehar Ansari for Urdu poetry for his book ‘Khuda Sey Baat Kertey Hein’, Najm-ul-Hassan Rizvi for Urdu fiction ‘Marvi Aur Marjeena’, Tauseef Tabassum for Urdu non-fiction ‘Band Gali Mein Shaam’, Baqar Naqvi for Urdu translation ‘Nobel Amn Kay Sau Baras’, Faheem Alam for a children’s book in Urdu ‘Sunnat Kahani’, Yasmeen Hameed on best English book ‘Pakistani Urdu verse’, and Dr Hameeda Khuhro on best children’s book in English ‘Children’s history of Sindh’ were among the winners of the UBL-Jang Literary Excellence Awards 2012. 

Ghazi Salahuddin, an eminent columnist and founder Editor of ‘The News’ launched by the Jang Group in 1991, spoke about the importance of books and writers in the society. “2012 is Saadat Hassan Manto’s year as his centenary is being observed while last year was Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s. It was a good fortune for the society that Manto was born but it was unfortunate that he was not widely read and recognized,” he regretted. 

Citing an example of the importance of books, Ghazi Salahuddin pointed out that the Library of Congress in the US was holding exhibitions of ‘Books that shaped America’ where original books that prompted the Americans to seek freedom from the British yoke and other books like John Steinbeck’s novel ‘The grapes of wrath’ have been put on display.

Sarmad Ali, Managing Director of the Jang Group and an acclaimed marketing guru, observed that their media group has joined the efforts to promote books and recognise writers to bring the new generation back to books as youths were excessively involved in the Internet and TV. 

He emphasized that the books helped to make one a good human being. The media’s primary role was to disseminate information but the Jang Group was also playing its social responsibility and its one way was to give awards to Pakistani writers. 

Sarmad Ali, who has also headed the Marketing Association of Pakistan (MAP) for quite some time, disclosed the Jang media group had prepared a CD, which contained Zia Mohyeddin’s rendition of Saadat Hassan Manto on his centenary year, adding that the Jang Group also planned to prepare such a CD about Meeraji.

The President and CEO of UBL, Atif R Bokhari, recalled that his bank had been playing its role in promoting social and cultural activities since its very beginning in 1960s. 

“The founder of UBL, the late Agha Hassan Abidi had laid the foundation for such activities and he even donated one ward to the SIUT. These activities were stopped during the nationalisation of banks which was a disaster for the country economically,” Atif Bokhari reckoned. 

Najeeb Agrawalla and Anita Mirza of UBL and Raheem Khan of the Jang Group also spoke on the occasion, revealing that over 200 entries were received for different categories this year compared to 68 last year. The panel of judges included Dr Noman-ul-Haq, Syed Mazhar Jamil, Anwer Mooraj and Muneeza Shamsi.

Cricket icon Rahul Dravid’s Timeless Steel launched in Mumbai

Jumbo Editorial Team 

Legendary cricketer Rahul Dravid launched a book titled ‘Timeless Steel’ which is a collection of stories about his illustrious international spanning more than 15 years, in Mumbai on July 4. Former Indian batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar, and eminent cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, were also present on the occasion.

The 256-page book portrays a cricketer who embodies the finest tradition and values of the game, and a human being who impressed the numerous people he came in contact with during his amazing cricketing journey. 

The contributions from notable personalities in ‘Timeless Steel’ are complemented by eye-catching photographs that reflect the man and the cricketer. 

Ed Smith, who once shared a dressing room with Dravid, describes the gentleman that he is while Greg Chappell remembers the India captain that he worked with. 

Sanjay Bangar relives the splendor of Headingley 2002 while Mukul Kesavan analyses how Dravid’s techniques allows for more style than one might assume. Sidharth Monga scrutinizes Dravid’s captaincy while Rohit Brijnath looks back at the twin peaks of Adelaide 2003. Adding sheen to this book is Vijeeta Dravid’s close-up account of her perfectionist husband.

Dravid remained the lynchpin of India’s Test batting through the 2000s, combining technical virtuosity with legendary work ethic. He epitomized an old-school guts-before-glory approach in an age increasingly defined by flashy stroke play and low attention spans. Alongwith Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, he formed the most powerful batting quartet of the recent past. 

 “I love reading books, especially books on sports other than cricket. I found it helped me gain a good understanding of the mindset of other athletes,”the soft-spoken Dravid remarked on the occasion. 

“Rahul Dravid is that rarest combination in sports: a champion athlete and a gem of a man. Timeless Steel is as much a tribute to the cricketer who underpinned Indian cricket’s golden age as to the man who brought dignity and grace to the game. Cricket is the most literary of sports and this book, ESPNcricinfo’s second in as many years, reinforces our commitment to showcase the best cricket literature,” Sambit Bal, Editor, ESPNcricinfo and author of Timeless Steel, observed.

“Disney Publishing has a long tradition of telling great stories and it is a pleasure to be launching this book on Rahul Dravid, together with ESPNcricinfo. ‘Timeless Steel’ is a celebration of a truly gifted cricketer and an Indian legend of sport. At Disney, we are always excited to bring such amazing content that is locally relevant, truly loved by our fans and something that transcends across ages,” Roshini Bakshi, Managing Ddirector, Consumer Products, Publishing and Retail, Disney UTV, reckoned. 

“Cricket and Bollywood are the two biggest connects in India and we decided to start with Rahul. Not only is he our Mr Dependable who ruled the cricket world for decades, but this year, he announced his retirement from the sport, following which emotions have been running high among his fans across the country,” she added.

Library professionals get useful training on Free and Open Source ILS

Jumbo Editorial Team 

Over 30 library professionals from the different parts of the country attended training on Free & Open Source Integrated Library Systems (ILS) which was spread over three days. It was held at the Institute of Cost and Management Accountant (ICMAP) Campus in Sector H-9 of Islamabad.

The event was organized by LISolutions with the collaboration of ICMAP, the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and Digital Library Network of South Asia (DLNetSA). 

It was a National Training on Koha 3.x.x, Greenstone Digital Library and DSpace and its inaugural ceremony was addressed by Sardar Shahjehan Yousuf, Minister of State for Ministry of Professional & Technical Training. 

The Minister appreciated the efforts of LISolutions and ICMA for organizing such professionals training and he also recognized the participants coming from around the country to learn the modern cutting edge technologies. 

He offered his ministry’s full support for future joint-venture trainings in all areas of professional development. The inaugural session was presided over by Aftab Ahmed Khan, Regional Director, ICMAP. Shafiq Rana spoke about LISolutions and its role in the promotion of Free and Open Source Software in country.

Ata-ur-Rahman, Lead Trainer, introduced his plan, its objectives and methods which are being adopted for effective learning of Free and Open Source ILS. Zahid Iqbal, Shafiq Rana and Arsalan Farooq were the other members of the training team. 

The topics of Koha ILS covered in the training included Introduction to ILS, Patrons Management, OPAC, Introduction to MARC, Cataloging Module, Serials Module, Circulation Module, Acquisition/Budget/Funds, Reports Module, Tools Module, Backup, Cron Jobs, Customization, Zebra Server Management, Introduction to GSDL and Introduction to DSpace.

The participants were generally satisfied with the proceedings of the outcome and Huma Waseem Malik, a young and promising library professional based in Islamabad, revealed having learnt a lot from the three days of training sessions. 

LISolutions is a registered, voluntary organization constituted by the LIS and Computer Professionals to work for the capacity building of professionals. 

It organizes trainings, seminars and workshops on cutting edge technologies and international standard practices. It also provides services in the technologies/sectors of Deployment of Free and Open Source Software. 

 LISolutions offers membership in three categories of membership. The Professional Membership is available to the LIS professionals having at least Masters degree in Library and Information Science or Archival Science who can also apply for Life Membership while the Student Membership is open to those studying Library and Information Science