NBF sets up book clubs to promote reading

ISLAMABAD: ‘Flying Book club’ and ‘ Books on Wheels’ are just a few names that come to mind when talking about the initiative taken by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to revive the book-reading culture. Book clubs have been established in various public places across the country to provide readers with easy and free access to books. Railways, hospitals and airports have also joined hands with the NBF to encourage people to read books. “It is discouraging to see people watch pointless soap operas and TV instead of reading books,” Mazahar Ul Islam, Managing director NBF said.

The book clubs have not been funded by organisations but by donations in the form of cash and books by people who love books. “One club has been set up in the Children’s Hospital at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) where children, inpatients and outpatients, and children of the hospital staff can access books free of cost,” he added.

Separate compartments on trains between Rawalpindi and Lahore have also been made to implement the ‘Travelling book Club’ plan.

“The project is almost complete and will be inaugurated within a few weeks,” Islam said.

Under the ‘Flying Book Club’ project, reading corners will be established at Shalimar Lounges in airports. “The Civil Aviation authority (CAA) has allocated a small area to the NBF at Benzair Bhutto International Airport to set up a book club”. This plan has been received well by citizens. “Social networking sites take up most of our time these days so it’s refreshing to see something like this being implemented,” Kanza Athar said.

Some have termed this change in entertainment pattern from books to TV as ‘dangerous’. “Reading proves to be more effective if the reader holds the book in his or her hand and sits in a comfortable place rather than reading books online,” Dr Rizwan Taj, head of the Pims psychiatric department said. He agreed that, with the boom in the TV channels, now people prefer to watch television instead of reading books. “Watching current affairs programmes or spending lengthy amounts of time on the internet have a negative impact on a person both physically and mentally. There is no concept of filtration, either on TV or the internet. People sense everything, whatever comes in front of them. Then throughout the day or before sleeping all this sensory input keeps revolving in their minds which is not good at all,” Dr Taj said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2010.