National Book Museum: An Initiative of National Book Foundation

To rekindle the declining interest in books, NBF has established a book museum at its head office in G-8/4, Islamabad. It is spread across one big hall having various enclosures and its decor symbolizes our rich cultural heritage. At present there are a total of 500 books (to which additions will be made regularly) most of which are by our leading scholars, authors and poets and some by foreign writers on subjects such as Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Sufism, Pakistan Movement, Quaid-e Azam, Allam Iqbal etc, in languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi, Pushto, Persian and English. All of them are displayed in glass cases. Therefore it will serve as a repository of rare and antique books as well as manuscripts that date back to about 300 years and also recent publications.

The most remarkable display is of 22 Holy Qurans which come from countries like Kashmir, Turkey, Iran, Saudia Arabia and Russia. There are also striking fiber-glass figures of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi and Hafeez Jallundari. While a Book Tree exhibits the World Encyclopedia.

The National Book Foundation (NBF)

It was founded in 1972 with the aim of inculcating and keeping alive the habit of book reading and at the same time promoting our culture. For this the NBF has taken a number of initiatives, such as a variety of Book Clubs have been formed so that people can have easy access to books. Members can even buy them at discounted prices from NBF book shops. Celebrities who love reading are appointed as Book Ambassadors to spread awareness. Children Literature Contest is held to encourage authors to write for children; the winning manuscripts are then distributed for free to school libraries all over the country. A large number of Braille Booksare published and made available for visually impaired people at nominal cost. Last but not the least, a selection of books is sent to several foreign universities.