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Library and information science has been at an infant stage in Pakistan, primarily in resource management, description, discovery, and access. The reasons are many, including the lack of interest and use of modern tools, techniques, and best practices by librarians in Pakistan. Finding a solution to these challenges requires a comprehensive study that identifies the current state of libraries in Pakistan. This paper fills this gap in the literature by reviewing the relevant literature published between 2015 and 2021 and selected through a rigorous search and selection methodology. It also analyzes the websites of 82 libraries in Pakistan through a theoretical framework based on various aspects. The findings of this study include: Libraries in Pakistan need a transition from traditional and limited solutions to more advanced information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled, user-friendly, and state-of-the-art systems to produce dynamic, consumable, and sharable knowledge space. They must adopt social semantic cataloging to bring all the stakeholders on a single platform. A libraries consortium should be developed to link users to local, multilingual, and multicultural collections for improved knowledge production, recording, sharing, acquisition, and dissemination. These findings benefit Pakistani libraries, librarians, information science professionals, and researchers in other developing countries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind providing insights into the current state of libraries in Pakistan through the study of their websites using a rigorous theoretical framework and in the light of the latest relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excellent library services are the backbone of any library. Keeping this in view the libraries are at Aga Khan University providing efficient library and information services to its users according to the present era of digital world. The purpose of this paper is to share the current and upcoming services of AKU libraries across all international campuses in three continents in the context of global developments in the field of library and information science; to motivate other libraries in the region to adopt such a resources and services. Aga Khan University libraries are committed to provide user centered services to its users; simultaneously traditional library services with modem library services according to the existing information age in supports of its user’s research, teaching and learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a study on the debate of free versus fee based library services in Pakistan. The review of literature revealed that no formal survey on this topic has been carried out before. A questionnaire based survey of selected experts in the field of library and information science from various cities was conducted. Their interviews were also audio-recorded. The library leaders opined on the arguments in favour of and against user fee in libraries. The results show that the respondents are in favour of user fee. However, they advocate for a core service to be offered free of charge as a basic right of the citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]