'Lost Identity'

By Sana Batool Naqvi.

Digital libraries at educational institutes are made for the purpose of providing students,the exposure towards a useful technology called computer..It helps them to raise the standard of education of there institute.Students are supposed to use this place for educating themselves that includes making of notes,searching material for assignments etc.
I will no more let you read these boring facts and waste your time....so here I come to share something interesting.
Allow me to take you to the ground floor of an enormous structure firmly placed in the centre of the campus...yess.. I am talking about the Mahmud Husain library.The ground floor comprises of a room known as 'Digital library' as written on the head of its door.
I wonder why they call it a library and not a 'cyber cafe.To agree or disagree with my statement you need to step into the room.Right in front of which,sits two ladies chatting happily with each other all the time and enjoying the job in the chilled air conditioned room.

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The situation here is contrary to what fatima(my friend)wrote in her writing piece about the receptionist at I.R department in her article 'IMPOLITE RECEPTION'...where she talked about the impolite receptionist.

Let me take you back to the cyber cafe of UoK......after getting in ,you are told to submit ur students id card at the reception ..so that they can register your name as well as the time when you entered inside.Now its a challenge for anyone to find a student engaged with a pc and using the technology to educate him/herself...you can find very few who are actually utilizing their time for the purpose, that a digital libraray should be used for.

Majority of them spend their time using social networking websites like facebook,orkut and twitter etc.While some behave childishly and play games .The last time when I visited the library to search material for my assignment I saw a girl watching 'Lion king' that actually made me feel if she is a retard...as you cannot even switch on the speakers there...!so with no sound she was watching the movie...even if i don't object on such a mature lady doing such an immature thing,how can I stop myself from thinking, why at such a place???
.While some are mature enough and spend their time doing other things of their interest other than education..Beside this the library charges 10rs per hour,and this is the reason why the receptionists enters the time when you step in so that they can calculate from that time and can show you the bill at the end...

All these reasons made me feel that the digital libraray of UoK has lost its identity and has become something else where the visitors do everything except for educating themselves and the fact that they charge money is more than enough to consider it as a cyber cafe.