The Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre, a subsidiary of the Pakistan Science Foundation under the umbrella of the Ministry of Science and Technology, is organising a specialised training course for Library Professionals titled “Short Term & Attachment Training Courses for (LIS) Professionals” from February 15 to March 5 at PASTIC National Centre, Islamabad. 

The participants of the workshop include 25 selected library professionals from AJK, Balochistan, GB, Federal Capital, KPK, Punjab and Sindh. Empowering library professionals on ICT skills for development of Pakistan, competence in information handling and producing an adequate corps of information scientists is one of the main objectives of the PASTIC.

The PASTIC National Science Reference Library (NSRL) is a network/consortium of S&T/R&D Libraries of Pakistan cooperating and collaborating to provide access of their holdings to the bona fide users throughout the country. The Consortium facilitates the scientific community by sharing scientific information resources among S&T Libraries of Pakistan along with the capacity building (training) of library professionals to cope with the modern challenges of digital era. 

Under the consortium, various scattered indigenous R&D information resources (available in S&T libraries) have been centralised in PakCat (Online Union Catalogue of Consortium Libraries with Federated Search) along with a Digital Repository (Full Text Journal Articles/Theses/Reports, etc.) and a free digital solution (Koha software) for Automation of 150 Consortium Libraries. 

Vice Chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Shah was the chief guest and the Chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation Prof Dr Shahid Mahmood Baig was the guest of honour in the inaugural session of this training. Director General of PASTIC Prof Dr Muhammad Akram Shaikh welcomed the worthy guests to PASTIC. 

In his inaugural address, Prof Dr M Akram Shaikh highlighted the role of PASTIC S&T information services since its inception to support and promote science and technology in the country. He elaborated that PASTIC regularly organise trainings for researchers, scientist and technologist on various ICT based research tools/techniques at its national centre as well as all the six sub-centre at Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Muzaffarabad.

Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Shah in his remarks acknowledged the significant role played by PASTIC to support research and development in the country and highlighted the need to strengthen PASTIC, various databases and provision of online information services to fulfil the current needs of the scientific community. 

Chairman of the PSF appreciated the PASTIC role in restructuring and revamping of national libraries for S&T development in the country. He advised workshop participants to take full advantage of this opportunity and become the future leaders and play their role as experts when they go back to their province. He offered them financial assistance from PSF if they want to organise similar activity in their region.