Jalandhar – To promote the culture of reading and establish a network of public libraries in Punjab, the Public Library and Information Services Draft Committee, under the chairmanship of the Education Minister, S. Sewa Singh Sekhwan, approved unanimously the draft of the “Shabad Parkash Punjab Public Library and Information Services Bill 2011.” The draft committee prepared the draft under the leadership of Dr. Dalbir Singh Dhillon, Chairman, Punjab School Education Board. After this meeting, the Education Minister held a press conference and told that very soon Punjab will enact the “Shabad Parkash Punjab Public Library and Information Services Act. Under this Act, Punjab Public Library Governing Board, along with its Standing Library Committee shall be established. A separate Directorate of Public Libraries shall be established very soon. He further told that in different stages a network of 1 State Central Library, 22 district libraries, 141 block libraries, 157 town libraries and 12, 282 village libraries shall be established.
He further told that at present Punjab have 1 State Central Library, and 14 district libraries. Barnala, Ludhiana, Moga, Mukatsar, Nawan Shahr, Taran Taran, Fazilika, and Pathankot districts will also have district libraries soon. He also told that an eight member Core Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Dalbir Singh Dillon, Chairman, Punjab School Education Board, Punjab has been constituted to prepare a public library development plan and the budget estimates. Other members of the Core Committee are:
Dr. Gurbhajan Gill, President, Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana,
Dr. Jagtar Singh, President, Punjab Library Association,
Dr. Balbir Kaur, Director, Language Department, Punjab,
Mrs. Kulbir Kaur, Librarian, M.M. Central State Library, Patiala,
Sh. Satnam Singh, Executive Editor, Daily Ajit,
Dr. H.S. Chopra, Librarian, GNDU Library, Amritsar, and
Sh. Sukhdev Singh, Librarian, Khalsa College, Amritsar.
He further told that Dr. Dalbir Singh Dillon, Chairman, PSEB, Mohali has been appointed Nodal Officer to pursue the “Shabad Parkash Punjab Public Library and Information Services Bill 2011 with the Government of Punjab for its enactment. He emphasized that in villages, people are not getting access to needed knowledge and information because of the lack of public libraries in the state. In this context, the “Shabad Parkash Punjab Public Library and Information Services Act shall be enacted on priority basis.
