UPON my visit to Punjab Public Library, Lahore, a strange fact was revealed to me about some library rules and methods of bookkeeping. On demand for some books on the history of English drama and poetry, I was told by the librarian that the books were almost 80 to 90 years old. Currently, they are in somewhat poor condition, and could not be located. My question was if they had been disposed of, why they were still in the catalog. On my persistent request the librarian sent me with the book attendant to search for the books because, according to rules, readers are not allowed to go to bookshelves.

I saw books covered with dirt with no identity for locating a book. The outer covering of the old books was usually plain containing nothing; neither author’s name nor the title of the book. I request library authorities to look into this matter and find out a proper way to dispose of old books.

Saba Sarwar

Munde Ki Barian village, Sialkot

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2016