Our government should organise activities in schools and public libraries across the country
LAHORE: The World Book Day is a celebrated yearly on April 23rd, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, to promote reading and publishing. But in Pakistan, books are not valued and the majority doesn’t understand the importance of libraries. Only a few cities have public libraries but with limited books.
Knowledge is the key to create a developed society as without enlightened citizens, the future is bleak. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey all spend at least an hour per day reading. In fact, Winfrey credits books for much of her success, “Books were my pass to personal freedom.” Nike founder Phil Knight reveres his library so much so that one has to take off their shoes and bow before entering. These are not the only ones to cherish their reading time.
Successful entrepreneurs, like Mark Cuban reads more than three hours every day. Dan Gilbert, a self-made billionaire and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, reads one to two hours a day. We also need to revive the habit of reading in our youth by providing easy access to children.
For instance, on the World Book Day, a multinational telecommunication company in India collected around 7,000 old books from their employees and customers by setting up collection boxes across its offices and selected stores. The books collected will be used to set up 10 new libraries in public schools across the country. The ‘Book for Smiles’ campaign by the company was an attempt to spread the joy of reading by bridging the gap between the privileged and the underprivileged. Considering the state and number of our libraries, we should also hold similar activities.
Our government should organise activities in schools and public libraries across the country and provide a common ground for authors, illustrators and readers to meet.
Dr Zeeshan Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2017.
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