Khurshid, Part 5
Public libraries
During his stay in the United States, Khurshid witnessed the development of public libraries in North America through generous support from philanthropists and public endowments, and through state support by enactment of public library legislation and with it levying of taxes. Soon after returning from the United States in 1959, he presented a plan for establishing a pilot public library in Pakistan with support from UNESCO [6]. In presenting this plan, he was influenced by the success of Delhi Public Library in India, which was created by the Government of India with technical and financial support from UNESCO. He also developed a public library system plan at the national level and another plan for a network of libraries for Karachi at the city level. Khurshid headed a Technical Working Group (TWG), appointed by the federal government of Pakistan in 1982 to conduct a survey of the existing public library facilities in Pakistan and to identify problems hampering their development. A working document based on a countrywide survey of public libraries was prepared by the Group, which proposed a comprehensive plan for a consortium of free public libraries in Pakistan duly supported by library legislation.