Development of Libraries in Bangladesh- A Study of the Historical Route
In 1972 the Directorate of Archives and Libraries established the Bangladesh National Library and the National Archives. However, from August, 1975, it became the nucleus of the National Library of Bangladesh. The Copyright Ordinance of 1974 mandated that the National Library will receive copies of all books published in Bangladesh including journals and news papers. Since 1973, the library publishes the Annual Bangladesh National Bibliography both in English and Bengali (Foote, 1986: 98).
In its inception, the National Library and the National Archives was housed in a rented premises, but since November 1985, it was shifted to its own building at Sher-e-BangIa Nagar, Dhaka and subsequently, has become the member of International Federation of Library Association (IFLA). From 1973, the National Library of Bangladesh compiling bibliographies and articles index of Daily Bengali and English newspapers published in the country, but still it is irregular. A Directory of Public Libraries in Bangladesh also compiled by them. Gradually, three other National Libraries were established to meet three sectoral demands of the country and they are :
— National Health Library and Documentation Centre in 1974;
— National Agricultural Library and Documentation Centre in
1980; and
— National Science Library in 1981.
But unfortunately, at the initial stage, two of the three libraries e.g. (a) National Agricultural Library and Documentation Centre and (b) National Science Library lost their identity.
National Health Library and Documentation Centre
In 1974, the Government of Bangladesh with the help of the Asia Foundation established the National Health Library and Documentation Centre at Dhaka. The aim of this Library is to cope with the increasing rate of publication on health science and medical literature and to fulfill the demand of the health scientists and medical professionals of the country. “However, the National Health Library and Documentation Centre (NHLDC) has maintained to a reasonable extent a well balanced collection of books, journals and audio-visual teaching and research materials in the field. It also acts as a depository library of bio-medical literature published in the country and compile national bibliography of these literature. It also serve as the apex body for bio-medical information network within the country for sharing resources and further linked the country with the Health Literature, Librarv and Information Service (HELLIS) network organized by the WHO for South-East Asia Region” (Ahmed, 1994:84-85).’
National Agricultural Library and Documentation Centre
To set up an efficient agricultural library system in the country, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), established in 1973, as an autonomous body, created the National Agricultural Library and Documentation Centre (NALDOC) in 1980, to support the information requirement of scientists and researchers, working in the field. The National Agriculture Library and Documentation Centre lost its status in June, 1987, when it was made a division of BARC and renamed Agricultural Information Centre (AIC).
National Science Library
The history of the National Science Library (NSL) is almost the same as the National Health Library and National Agricultural library. The National Science Library (NSL) was established in 1981, under the Science and Technology Division of the Ministry of Education. The aim of this effort is to provide the required information to the scientists and technologists of the country. After the establishment of National Science library, its management was handed over to the Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical Documentation Centre (BANSDOC).
However, in 1987, the National Science Library was merged with BANSDOC, as per provision of the National Science and Technology Policy of Bangladesh (LAB, 1993 :24).
Library Education and the Professional Associations
In 1952, formal library education in the country was introduced, when Late Mr. Fazle Elahi, the then Librarian of the Dhaka University, instituted the first three month certificate course in librarianship at Dhaka University Library. The programme was, however, abandoned after only one session (Siddique, 1965: 256).
According to Ahmad (1987: 37-38), apart from the higher training facilities under the Technical Assistance Programme of the Colombo Plan in 1953-54, four 3-month subject-wise training were conducted between 1955 and 1959. The training course was sponsored by Fulbright Programme under the supervision of Late Mr M S Khan, the then Librarian of the Dhaka University Library. Till October, 1958, no training facilities were available in the country. After that, the then East Pakistan Library Association, now the Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB), initiated a regular 6-month certificate course in librarianship. Practically, it was the predecessor of regular library education in the country. A great breakthrough in the field of library education occurred when the post-graduate Diploma course in Library Science was introduced on a trial basis by Dhaka University in 1959. A one year Master’s degree course in Library Science was introduced in 1962. However, the landmark year in regard to library education in Bangladesh was 1964-65 when the Department of Library Science was instituted under the Faculty of Arts at Dhaka University. From the session 1975-76, Dhaka University started an MA preliminary course in Library Science and thereby a two year Masters degree programme in the subject was introduced (Mannan, 1990: 117). The department also introduced M. Phil. in 1976 and Ph D programme in 1979. During the session 1987-88, the post-graduate Diploma course was abolished and a three- year honors course at undergraduate level leading to Bachelor of Arts in Library and Information Science was introduced. It is to be mentioned that in keeping with the demand of the day the department has changed its name to the Department of Library and Information Science and necessary changes have been made in the courses too. Besides Dhaka University, Rajshahi University started a one year post-graduate diploma course in Library and Information Science in 1991 and followed by a B S S Honors course in 1993 and Masters degree course in 1997.
The Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB) sponsors the Library Training Institute in Dhaka, which offers Library and Information Science courses and training programmes and supports continuing education opportunities for librarians through seminars and symposias. The institute sponsors a six- month certificate course in library science since its inception; a 12-month post-graduate diploma course in Library and Information Science and a basic Librarianship course for armed forces personnel and other special courses since 1989-90. The association also established the Library Training Institute in Khulna, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Mymensingh and Tangail. The association also publishes the twice yearly journal The Eastern Librarian and obtained its affiliation with IFLA and COMLA.Along with LAB, for professional interest, there are at least eight associations in the country, most of them are local and of special interests. Recently (in 1986) a complete professional association—’Bangladesh Association of Librarians, Information Scientists and Documentalists (BAL1D) have emerged, with a professional promise to contribute the library profession in the country.However, BALID is also engaged in arranging professional training, seminars and publishing its news letter Informatics at a regular interval. From 1996, another institute namely Institute of Library and information Management (ILIM) started offering Post-graduate Diploma in Library and Information Science, which is sponsored by the Council of Library Professionals, Bangladesh (CLPB). The institute is located in Dhaka.
However, the present scenario of Libraries in Bangladesh is not that hopeless. They are operating more or less under a chain of network, but the essential characteristics of library service have not developed that much from the point of view of the number of libraries, skilled manpower, systematic operation, modern
technological facilities, utility orientation of the system etc.; and even from the point of view of the estimated potential users population (EPUP). The library system in the country still presents a poor picture and is rather passing through a traditional stage. As the profession is now attracting people from different social backgrounds and good academic qualifications, it is expected that over the years, this predominantly young group of professionals will be able to organize the entire library system of Bangladesh.
Prof. Dr. S.M. Mannan,
Dept. of Information Science & Library Management, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Suraiya Begum
Associate Professor
Dept. of Information Science & Library Management, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
References
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This article was published in the Nibandhamala (collection of research articles in Bengali) Centre for Advanced Research in Humanities, Dhaka University in 2002
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