Over 660 rare drama scripts digitised

LAHORE:After the automation work of Alhamra Reference Library digitalisation work has been completed.

Lahore Arts Council Executive Director Athar Ali Khan inaugurated Alhamra Reference Digital Library, here Thursday at Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall. In the first phase, bibliographic details of 4,000 books on drama, fine arts, novel, drama, religion, social sciences, technology, English literature and Urdu literature are uploaded on internationally accessed “Koha Library Software”. In the second phase, digitisation of 660 drama scripts between the years 1957-1998 written by famous artistes, along with bibliographic detail of 73 renowned personalities i.e. Anna Molka Ahmad, Colin David, Bano Qudsia, Dr Enver Sajjad and Qavi Khan, 1,500 audio cassettes of different programmes, including Na’at, Qawwali, Drama, Classical Music, 250 VCR films of drama, music, conference, 130 Vinyl Records of various Pakistani, Indian movies and English albums are uploaded on D-space Library Knowledge Repository. Some of the famous drama scripts which are digitised in this phase are “Aadhi Baat” by Bano Qudsia, “Taleem-e-Balighan” by Khawaja Moeen-ud-Din,” Uff Ye Biwian” Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, “Phir Dekh Tamasha” by Sajjad Haider and many others.

Deputy Director of Archives and Research Centre Muhammad Arif said that Alhamra Digital Reference Library would prove to be a centre of excellence for students working in the entertainment industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director Athar Ali said that after the work of automation and digitalisation of Alhamra Reference Library, now the library is the house of almost 4,000 rare books on literature and culture in English, Urdu and over 660 rare drama scripts of renowned playwrights digitised in Alhamra Archives. Khan appreciated the hard work of the library team and said that after the two successful phases now, in the third phase, bibliographic detail along with digital form of the press clippings of Lahore Arts Council dated from 1985-onwards would be uploaded on D-space Library Knowledge Repository, and in the final step, all books, scripts, newspaper clippings and research articles will be made online.

Our students would be in the position to enhance their research experiences by using the new research centre’s special collection in the form of audio cassettes, CDs, press clippings and VHS tapes of various famous festivals, ghazals, and dramas, he added.

Alhamra has excellent collections of English and Urdu books, plays, press clippings, video, gramophone, script and audio cassettes, which will benefit the generations to come. All music, paintings, drama, and other art forms were linked to such a research centre’s having all present-day requirements. Alhamra Reference Library will prove to be an important reference in the field of literature and culture.

PMA journal launched: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Lahore, has launched the first issue of its scientific journal Pakistan Journal of Surgery & Medicine (PJSM) online on Thursday.

This was stated in a ceremony held at PMA House, Lahore. The patrons of the journal, Prof Dr Ashraf Nizami and Prof Dr Shahid Malik, said the journal could be visited at www.pjsm.com.pk.

The PMA Lahore president applauded the efforts of Chief Editor Dr Ammar Anwar, Executive Editor Dr Salman Kazmi and their team members, including Safia Firdous, Azza Sarfraz, Kanwal Tahira, Zoina Sarfraz, Prof Saeed Bajwa (US), Prof Naqeeb Ullah Achakzai, Prof Muhammad Adrees Anwar, Prof Shafi Nizamani (Malaysia), Porf Arif Rasheed Malik, Prof Iype Chairin (Nepal), Prof Owais Hameed, Prof Sargay Avdeev (Russia), Prof Shazia Majid Khan, Prof Muhammad Iftikhar Hanif (Malaysia), Prof Shahroona Masood, Dr Nadeem A Tehmi (UK), Prof Arif Pervez, Dr Ali Niyaf (Maldives), Dr Ehsan Ullah (New Zealand), Dr Kiran Niraula (Maldives) and Dr Rahat Ali Tauni (UK).

It was stated that the team worked hard for successful launch of the journal.