Khurshid, Part 3
Library Associations
Khurshid always felt the need for a strong national library association and its active role in the country’s library development. He became involved in the activities of the Pakistan Library Association (PLA) in 1957 and assumed the post of Assistant Secretary in 1960–61. He was elected as Secretary in 1961–62 and 1970–73. He organized three successful PLA conferences in Lahore (1961), Karachi (1971), and Saidu Sharif (1973) and also published their proceedings. Under his tenure as secretary of the PLA, he also prepared some important policy documents, such as the Library Bill of Rights, Guidelines for Affiliation of Library Associations, and Standards for Library Courses Offered by Library Associations in Pakistan. He was also the founding chairman of the Karachi University Library Science Alumni Association (KULSAA) in 1957–58. KULSAA launched a quarterly journal, Pakistan Library Review, in 1958 of which he was the first editor. His carefully planned editorial and production work earned a good name for this journal, so much so that such distinguished internationalists as Ralph R. Shaw, S.R. Ranganathan, Jesse H. Shera, and Mary V. Gaver were among its contributors.
At the international level, Khurshid served as a resource member for Pakistan on the ALA’s Equivalence Committee on Library Education in 1970. He was also the Chairman of the IFLA’s Sub–Group on South Asia in 1976–78, and a member of the International Association of Orientalist Librarians from 1978 to 1985.