KARACHI: The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in a first of its kind initiative, launched a free-for-all digital library on Thursday, a statement said.

The digital library in the public sector was realised through the hard work of a minimum staff within a record time span of one year, it added.

IPRI President Ambassador Raza Muhammad (Retd) at the occasion, emphasised the need for widening such forums, while expressing pleasure on IPRI doing a remarkable job with conviction and commitment.

IPRI Executive Director Dr Hussain Nadim, the brain behind the initiative, spelt out the dynamics involved and remarked that data-base and quantitative analysis should become the focal points of research in this modern era.

He said that Pakistan is way ahead in qualitative research, and if data scientific knowledge is embraced it will be a leap forward in learning techniques for valued research.

Nadim expressed hope that the digital library will undertake many more initiatives and become the most-sought-after forum for knowledge sharing. This is a revolution of its kind in a country where 60 per cent of the population will be tech savvy with access to the internet.

Eminent scholar Dr Riffat Hussain, the chief guest of the event, lauded the initiative, saying that it is the need of the hour for bringing up the egalitarian point of view in a credible manner in Pakistan.

The digital library will have instant and uninterrupted and unconditional access to sites across the world, with the world of knowledge just a click away. Jstor, world-acclaimed newspapers such as New York Times, Washington Post and many others will be there for perusal and research.

Likewise, IPRI’s own library books are online while the new forum has categorised the resource base in three forms including general category comprising of books, premier consisting of Higher Education Commission (HEC) resources, world’s biggest databank of Jstor, distinguished journals such as Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and those of think tanks worldwide.

The new accessible library has been kept free for the first six months, and even after that general public access to the portal will remain free of cost. However, scholars and academia eager to tap the research output will pay a nominal of Rs500/month.

This is IPRI’s third initiative to broaden its base and disseminate knowledge comprising IPRI website, IPRI Journal and now the digital library.

IPRI has also uploaded its Infographics database, procured widely by students, scholars and policy-makers in Pakistan and abroad.

The digital library’s another first is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with National Archives, through which its database, archives, books and classified reports will now be part of public knowledge and domain.