With the spread of literacy, libraries have become essential tool for learning. Public instruction is making rapid progress everywhere in Pakistan. It is no more the privilege of the well-to-do only to acquire knowledge as it was not so very long ago. There are schools and colleges in almost every part of the cuntary. Twenty first century dawns with a sure promise to be a century of peace and educational explosion. Naturally when there is thirst for knowledge, there is also an ever-increasing demand for books and magazines. Everybody does not have the means to buy books of all sorts. Mass education programme is bound to suffer adversely if there are no free libraries for students. Our school libraries are not functioning properly. There are practically no reading or borrowing facilities. There is no whole-time staff for libraries. Above all, there is no incentive to read general books or fiction. The few books that may be there in the dusty old almirahs stink awfully. This is mainly so for want of fresh air in the stuffy, locked cupboards. More often the books are just old titles, moth-eaten and worn out. Libraries obviously play an important role in creating a genuine love of books and interest in current affairs. Their reading rooms promote a spirit of discipline, research, enquiry and fellowship. Libraries with a variety of attractive titles have a healthy, beneficial effect on the eager mind of students.
