PLISJ completes 51 years of non-stop publication

 By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), a quarterly publication of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, has successfully completed 51 years of its non-stop publication by bringing out its October-December 2020 issue (Volume 51, Number 4) recently. 

It has lived to the reputation of braving all challenges as the quarterly journal has come out in time once more even though the life in general still remained disturbed by the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) whose second wave has already caused concerns in Pakistan and many other countries. 

Besides overcoming the unforeseen obstacles, as a result of the virus from the beginning of the current year, the LPB management has had to continuously tackle the lukewarm response from the library professionals in matters relating to subscription and its timely remittances. 

The PLISJ Chief Editor, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who is also the Founder President of the LPB, has pointed it out in nearly every issue of the journal but somehow the community of library professionals, having reaped enormous benefits from it, has remained sluggish in their response. 

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, an ex-chairperson of the University of Karachi’s Library and Information Science department, alnogwith his trustworthy lieutenant and former student, Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, has been chiefly responsible for keeping the bureau as well as the journal afloat against the heaviest of odds.

PLISJ beats lockdown to arrive in time yet again

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Although the ongoing lockdown, being enforced to prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) from spreading, has brought life to a virtual standstill throughout the country, only a handful of organizations and institutions have managed to remain afloat in the prevailing situation. 

Quite remarkably, the Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), a quarterly publication of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, has succeeded in bringing out its April-June 2020 issue (Volume 51, Number 2) in time once more.

The PLISJ Chief Editor, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who is also the Founder President of the LPB, has to be credited for accomplishing this gigantic task in the most challenging of situations.  

Having stayed back in Pakistan, instead of returning to North Amercia where he normally spent his summers, he has kept his associates motivated even during the lockdown period with his dossiers via email. 

A former chairperson of the University of Karachi’s Library and Information Science department, he has continued to be the motivation as well as the binding force in keeping the bureau alive, with the help of his able and trustworthy lieutenant, Prof Dr Nasim Fatima.