The deplorable state of city’s libraries

Despite being an urban metropolis with a significantly literate population, most public libraries in Karachi exist in a dismal state today, buried in dust and gradually fading out of existence. However, this was not always the case. The port city’s oldest residents recall its various libraries as centres of knowledge and information, frequented by students, researchers, readers, and freethinkers alike who would have access to a world of information.

The downfall of these centres of knowledge came when the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) stopped updating the books and materials housed in their libraries, repairs went overdue, while lack of an appropriate organisational structure dampened the limited resources they did have. When probed about the dismal state of affairs, the workers would blame the KMC for a lack of funding.

For instance, District Municipal Corporation Keamari does not have a single library in all of Keamari municipality. A municipal spokesperson believes that a reading-room was established in a large municipality building in the Old Golimar area in 1995 and housed an extensive collection of books and newspapers, but was burned down to ashes in 2007 by unidentified assailants.

The dismal state of libraries is not just limited to Kemari. District West also appears to paint a similar picture, where there is a single library in Orangi Sector 11.5, that is now run by a welfare organisation. Although this library is home to thousands of books, it does not keep newspapers or magazines while the welfare organisation has started using the space to run its computer training programmes.

The southern district of Karachi is however home to eight libraries and two street libraries. The Lyari zone has four libraries, but frequent power outages seem to keep them dark most of the day, while the few students who do come to these libraries complain of an outdated collection of books.

The biggest of these libraries is the Lyari Textbook Library in Chakiwara, housing over 11,000 books and daily newspapers. However, here it is the building’s deplorable infrastructure, timeworn furniture, and shoddy electrical work, that keeps readers at bay. The Iqbal Shaheed Library in Bihar Colony, housing over 4,000 titles, also exists in a similar state, but here it is the lavatories that can make anyone’s blood run cold sight. “The toilets are functional but are too gross for anyone to even consider using. This library has been shut down several times, but reopened on the neighbourhood’s demand,” commented a Bihar Colony resident.

During the age of Lyari gang wars, a satellite library set up in the Singoleen neighbourhood had to be closed from 2013 to 2016. During this period, all of its books were stolen so when the library reopened three years later, it could only offer access to newspapers while the books were never restocked.

The Saddar zone also has four libraries, and the main library is located in the front market. Despite being in a commercial area it seldom receives any footfall as the building does not have an identifying board or signage, so most citizens are unaware of the library’s presence. The building however is in good shape, and houses over 10,000 books.

Read More: Orangi Town gets public library, computer lab

On the other hand, the Hashim Guzdar Library located in the Ranchore Line area is one that appears to be on the brink of crumbling to dust. Plaster from its roof dusts down like snow, the doors and windows remain broken, furniture is too dilapidated to use and the toilet has been closed for quite some time now. Owing to which, the 25,000 books kept at this library are seldom greeted by a reader and mostly stay gathering dust in their cobwebbed shelves.

District Council Karachi mostly consists of rural areas and is home to a total of three libraries that remain open from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and exist in a considerably better state than other libraries in the city. The Shaheed Abdullah Murad Library, for instance, is located in the union council of Darsano Chano. It stores over 7,000 books on a variety of topics, while its air-conditioned halls and access to clean, well-managed lavatories make it a regular haunt for students and CSS aspirants who camp here for hours on end. The other two libraries also have a similar collection of books and are equipped with basic facilities, but do not offer the luxury of air-conditioning in the sweltering summer months.

As for District Malir, it has 11 libraries in its municipality nearly all of which exist in a deplorable state, while one has lost its newspaper service owing to pending dues. Some libraries like Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar Library in Union Council Number Three, do have a decent variety of books and usable furniture, but no access to water, sanitation, or a backup power supply for the frequent power outages that turn the library dark.

Located in Union Council (UC) Number Eight, Colonel Sher Ali Khan Library has been inactive for several years due to raging conflicts among local gangs. Similarly, UC-5’s Barakat Madina Library which was once a hub for criminals has been closed for four years now. Although the DMC administration was able to reclaim the building from criminals, the library services could never be restored. Pir Elahi Bakhsh Library in UC-9 is another such establishment that exists in thought but not in practice. It has remained unable to open its doors to readers due to longstanding construction works, without which the building is just an empty shell.

The Korangi district, on the other hand, has 12 libraries in total. Although these buildings are not as severely dilapidated as those in district Malir, they are still plagued by power outages, have broken furniture, and lack access to useable lavatory due to water shortages in the area, such as the Mufkar Islam Library.

However, the Central Model Library that was constructed in 2017 is the only library in the area with access to reserve power, air conditioning, over 24,000 books, and most basic facilities merited for an establishment like such. “We usually come here to prepare for our exams because the library has a generator and air conditioning, so we are not disturbed by load-shedding,” told one student present at the facility.

Commenting on the state of affairs, Karachi University Professor Nasreen Aslam Shah said that it is the responsibility of the government to reinstate and rehabilitate all the dilapidating libraries in the city, so the new generation has access to books regardless of their social status. “While it is the parents’ responsibility to build the new generation’s connection with books. There should be public lectures in the regard, as well as motivational programmes to encourage students to go to libraries. The government needs to act promptly and fix whatever needs to be fixed in existing libraries as well as establish new ones in underprivileged areas, so no student is gate-kept from acquiring knowledge,” she told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2022.