Spare money to build public libraries
Prime minister urges wealthy people
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon the wealthy people to spend a part of their income for setting up public libraries in their respective areas.
She made the plea while addressing the inaugural function of the National Conference of Library Professionals-2012 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
Hasina said a section of people in the country now earn quite a lot of money. “It won't be fair to spend all your money in travels abroad… spare some money to establish public libraries in your villages, upazilas and districts.”
She also urged the parents and teachers to encourage their children in reading books so they do not take any wrong path.
Stressing the need for modernisation of information preservation and management system, she said the librarians could play an important role in building a digital Bangladesh.
Hasina asked the library professionals to perform their duties with utmost sincerity and responsibility in collecting and preserving the invaluable folklores of the country.
The premier said initiative has been taken to build a strong public library management system in the country through modernisation and digitisation of their preservation system aimed at facilitating research and improving professional skills of librarians.
The prime minister said the previous Awami League government from 1996-2001 had set up more than 1,000 libraries in far away localities across the country.
But most of them were closed due to negligence of the subsequent BNP-Jamaat alliance government, she alleged.
The present government, she said, has taken initiatives to implement the library policy by making it time-befitting and established 2,000 mosque-based libraries across the country.
Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad also spoke at the function, chaired by Dilara Begum, president of Bangladesh Library Association.
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