Authorization for a
national library can be traced back to 1949, although it was not established until 1951 under the secretariat of the
Ministry of Education (MoEd). However, there was no physical library infrastructure until 1954 when the National Library merged with the existing Liaquat Memorial Library in Karachi, and was renamed the
Liaquat National Library (LNL). Plans began to move the library to
Islamabad in 1963, and 1968 saw the separation of the Liaquat and National libraries, with the latter relocated to
Pakistan's new capital,
Islamabad. The library was housed in a series of rented structures until construction of a permanent building was completed in 1988. The formal opening took place on 24 August 1993. Scholar Syed Jalaluddin Haider dates the library's existence later, to April 1999, when the 100,000-volume collection housed by the Department of Libraries was physically moved into the new building. After a period of slow growth in its reconstruction, the library began to enlarge its size and importance in the country. It gained more significance in 1992 with the promulgation of copyright (amendment) act 1992. == See also ==