Sindh Wildlife Library - treasure trove of information

The Sindh Wildlife Library has more than 8,000 rare books in four languages. Most of the books are 150 years’ old while some of them have been written in the early 18th century. The D.G. Robert’s magnum opus “Birds of Sindh” is present also in the library.

Located on the upper floor of Sindh Wildlife Building, the library was established in 1980. It has books on aquatic life, reptiles and birds found in the world, including in Pakistan, as well as on forests. The 8,000 books, decked in the beautiful cabinets made of teakwood and Sheesham, are written in English, Urdu, Arabic as well as Sindhi languages.

According to Sindh Wildlife Officer Adil Ali Khan, the library has books by well-known authors including Birds of Sindh, Wildlife Habitat in Management Forest, Animal on View, Bird Rate Risk, The Bengal Master, Lizard Paradise, Poison Snakes, Timber of World, Safari World, Bombay Stamp Indian Act, Business Company Act and other books.

Some of the books in the library had been written in the early 18th century, while most of the books are from 1903, 1931, 1937, and 1939. According to Adil Khan, it would not be wrong to say that these beautiful cabinets hold a “treasure-trove” of information on wildlife and forests.

Adil Khan said that the library also has some rare books of law. A woman, named Hafsa, who is studying at a British university and researching on the Indus dolphin and other aquatic life of Sindh, has said that she found most of the books at the Sindh Wildlife Library which were not available anywhere else. The researcher also got information by visiting the blind dolphin habitat of the Indus River in Sukkur, while other citizens, including students of zoology and botany, are also benefiting from these books in schools of Sindh, including Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2023.