Department of Library & Information Science S. P. College Srinagar organized a one day seminar on the theme ‘Read your way: Printed Books vs E-Books’ on the occasion of World Book and Copy Rights Day today at S P College Auditorium.

Principal S P College cum Seminar Chief Patron, Dr. Bashir Ahmed Sheikh addressing the seminar stressed that everyone should read hard copies as well as e-books to shape better human development to serve society.

He further explained Reading books is important because it expands knowledge, enhances cognitive function, stimulates imagination, and develops empathy. It also improves vocabulary, writing skills, and critical thinking, contributing to personal and professional growth. Reading can also be a source of entertainment and relaxation, offering a break from daily stressors.

HOD Department of Library and Information Science Kashmir University, Dr. Sumeer Gul was invited as KeyNote speaker of the event. Dr. Gul presented a detailed paper on celebrating World Book & Copy Rights Day and explained that by celebrating this day humans connect their souls with the books and their authors as well.

In his address to the gathering, he said World Book Day is a global event to promote the love of reading and the importance of books. It aims to encourage people of all ages to discover the joy of reading, celebrate authors and illustrators, and raise awareness about the power of books to shape our understanding of the world.

The second guest speaker Librarian Govt. Degree College Womens Baramulla, Dr. Ruman Gull spoke on a broader topic ‘Printed books vs e-Books’. He explained the importance of both and said aim should be reading to achieve academic and professional objectives. He briefed the gathering that the choice between e-books and printed books is largely a matter of personal preference, with each format offering distinct advantages. e-Books excel in portability, convenience, and cost-effectiveness, while printed books provide a more tangible, immersive reading experience.

Librarian GDC Sogam, Aashiq Hussain Wafai, invited speaker, spoke on a topic ‘How to assist physically challenged and blind library users’ and provided detailed information on tools which can be used to serve physically challenged library users.

Earlier, Librarian S P College Srinagar, Dr. M Iqbal Bhat explained why UNESCO is organizing World Book Day every year on 23rd April, he informed audience that 23rd April is death anniversary of William Shakespare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso and this is the reason UNESCO chose this date to pay tribute to these authors.

He provided information on bestselling authors around the world and informed the audience that good authored books can help people in earning a good amount of money also and gave examples of bestselling authors like William Shakespare whose four billion books have been sold worldwide, Agatha Christie 02 billion copies, Danielle Steel 800 million copies etc.

A book titled ‘Basics in Library and Information science ‘ authored by Dr. M Iqbal Bhat (Seminar Organizer) was also released on the occasion, and the review of book was presented by Dr. Ruman Gul (Librarian GCW Baramulla), he informed audience that book is covering the whole syllabi of MD Library & Information Science paper offered in Cluster University affiliated Colleges.

The second session of seminar was attended by student participants from S P College Srinagar, Govt. Degree College for Womens, Srinagar, Amar Singh College, Srinagar and AAA Memorial College Bemina.

Eight students spoke at the seminar in which four students spoke in favour of printed books and four students spoke in favour of e-Books.

To watch the performance of student speakers, two jury members Dr. Mudasir Khazir (Librarian GDC Khansahib and Iqbal Ahmed Khan (Jr. Librarian S. P College) ranked the students on the basis of their performance.

1st position went to Tashif Amin (Amar Singh College), 2nd position to Sara Koul (Womens College M.A Road Srinagar) and 3rd position to Sania Mukhtar (Amar Singh College, Srinagar), all the three top student speakers were awarded with cash price by Principal S P College Srinagar and certificates were given to all participants.