‘Library of Congress’ only galaxy of knowledge in world

In the age of enlightenment and full of knowledge explosion, a library (both physical and virtual) holds central position in every part of the world. Being its reinvigorated and dynamic learning resource, the library is centerpiece for establishing the intellectual community and scholarly enterprise. It offers many of the tools and experiences to be more competitive in the world where sky is limit for improvement. Amongst other, Library of Congress (a research library of the United States with widespread network around the globe) is unique in its nature, size, atmosphere and future goals.
Shedding light on the noble mission of Library of Congress (LOC) in Pakistan, Carol L Mitchell (PhD) rendering her services as Regional Director of the LOC, Islamabad, told Pakistan Today in an exclusive interview that being a hub of reliable information, LOC (Islamabad) was open to all the people of Pakistan including youth but their focus was on scholarly people conducting research in particular fields.
“She is determined to enrich the LOC (Islamabad) with best collections of local languages, art, culture and music of Pakistan,” she commented accompanied by US consulate General, Lahore Information Officer Leslie Nunez Goodman, in a serene environment of a local hotel.
The books of poetry, especially in Pashto (due to its relevance with Afghanistan), Sariaki, Punjabi, Balochi, Sindhi and other regional languages were vibrant treasure and LOC was using all its resources to assimilate them in its precious collection, she added. Looking like a scholar due to her command over the subject, Mrs Carol revealed that Islamabad Office of the Library of Congress and others wanted to provide latest information to United States government and Congress through its active acquisition and cataloguing programme covering Pakistan, Afghanistan and South Asia.
She said the LOC housed materials in all formats – monographs, serials, DVDs, videos and all the languages of the region besides general collections, business, humanities/social sciences, Law (US & Int’l), local history/genealogy, newspapers/periodicals, science/technology, international collections and a South Asia Digital Reference Section. “The LOC’s biggest challenge is to intensify liaison with non-government organisations and government agencies to identify and gather material with exchange arrangements so as to preserve all material and provide latest resources to the Congress and the US Government,” she explained.
“Since movies reflect social life, pulsating culture, dying and growing trend in society and mindset of the people, so we are multiplying our collecting of movies of Lollywood and Bollywood which have major role in popularising cinema in South Asia.” The LOC has also been collecting political posters as they represent mind of political parties in Pakistan, she added. “We are also in contact with social media including YouTube, Facebook, flicker, twitter and such other social websites to seek their cooperation in preserving the digital material,” she maintained.
“During my visit to Lahore, I also went to Punjab University’s National Library and met my counterpart to exchange views on enhancing the collection and digitalising the material. Meanwhile, we have been dealing with famous publishers including Vanguard, Oxford and others to enrich the LOC,” she added. Basking into comfort, she continued that the office also contributed global research by collecting research books, serials, videos, and sound recordings from over 50 research libraries in the United States, Canada, and Europe under the Cooperative Acquisitions Programme (CAP). Sitting relaxed and wearing simple attire, she traced back to its history in Pakistan, saying the Library of Congress put its first step in the country 50 years ago and it made its debut in Karachi in 1962. Later, it was shifted to Islamabad to improve its performance, she added.
When asked about future of the library, she said it must be viewed with a new perspective and understanding if it was to maintain its potential in adding value to the advancement of research and academic mission. Rather than threatening the traditional concept of the library, the integration of new information technology has actually become the catalyst that transforms the library into a more vital and critical intellectual center of life,” she argued.
“With the emergence and integration of information technology, some people predicted that the library would become obsolete. Others asserted that the virtual library would replace the physical library. While information technology has not replaced print media, and is not expected to do so in the foreseeable future, it has nonetheless had an astonishing and quite unanticipated impact on the role of the library. Contrary to the predictions of diminishing use and eventual obsolescence of libraries, its usage has expanded dramatically. This increase is particularly common at libraries and institutions that have worked with their architects and planners to anticipate the full impact of the integration of new information technologies throughout their facilities,” she added.
About the Library of Congress in Washington DC, she said it was one of the most famous and influential libraries in the world. “It has more than 30,000,000 catalogued books in 470 languages. It has also the largest rare book collection,” she averred. Mrs Carol said it was also the official research arm of the Congress. The library was founded in 18th century. US former President Thomas Jefferson gave very large collection to the LOC on philosophy and literature, he added.
She said that the library’s primary mission was researching inquiries made by members of Congress through the Congressional Research Service. “Although it is open to the public at large, only library employees, Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and other high-ranking government officials may check out such books,” she said. The LOC is unique due to acquiring world digital library, special formats and genre, American folk life center, geography and map, manuscript, microform, motion picture and television, music and performing arts, prints and photographs, rare book and special collections, recorded sound and veterans’ history. She also talked about children corners to create interest of teenagers in the Library of Congress for establishing the message that it belonged to everyone.