School Libraries Association holds second convention

The School Libraries Association On Saturday held its second annual convention in collaboration with the Goethe Institute and Highbrow College at the Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL).

Librarians, principals and teachers representing more than 150 schools attended the convention where the organisers had also arranged online interactive sessions with American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President Mary Keeling, British Council Libraries Manager Afnan Khan and TEACH Pakistan Director Saima Hussain.

Some speakers at the convention included educational consultant Kanwal Fawad, Aga Khan University librarian Dr Khawaja Mustafa and former library coordinator of Generation's School Tazeen Nasir.

One of the highlights of the event was a panel discussion on the subject of children’s literature. The panellists included former managing director of the Oxford University Press Ameena Saiyid, Bait-ul-Hikmah Library Director Prof Malahat Kaleem Sherwani, Educational Development Resource Center Director Salman Asif Siddiqui and Civil Aviation Authority School Principal Nazma Athar. The session was moderated by author Yasir Qazi.

Dramatic readings by ‘Zambeel Readings’ were also part of the event, in which Asma Mundrawala and Shamsa Askari read out satirical texts penned by Ashraf Subohi Dehlvi, Patras Bukhari, Imtiaz Ali Taj and Ismat Chughtai. The audience was enthralled by sharp wit and humour demonstrated by these masters in their texts.