September 8, 2021

Internship Report
Basma saif
KP Youth Lead Program (KP Assembly)

On 9th August 2021, I restarted my internship in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly under KP

Youth Lead Program after receiving my extension. On the first day, I met my focal person Sir
Attaullah Khan, Secretary to Mr. Speaker who welcomed me back to the Organization and
informed me that I will be placed in a different department than my previous one according to
the departmental requirements. I hesitated at the news; however I consoled myself at the thought
that it will add new skill set to my resume.
After a few days, I received my formal letter to be placed in library of KP Assembly. I was
already acquainted with the office members. The librarian Sir Niaz Gul welcomed me along my
fellow interns and told us that they really need internees as the library was shifting and also
being digitalized. He also taught us the procedures of placing books in shelves according to the
Classification numbers, Koha cataloging which is a library management system, and OCLC
classification which is service to classify books, magazines etc. He also briefed us about our
roles and responsibilities which included:
 Assisting with the library administration in the organization of library
 Classifying and cataloguing library resources
 Supporting learning and Research
 Using library system and computer applications

I have always been a book lover, so working and contributing to a library was quite exciting for
me. The librarian told me that this library is made to assist Speaker, MPAs and others inside the
Assembly and hold almost thirteen thousand books. Moreover, a part of budget is allocated to
buy new books and some organizations and individuals also donate them. While going through
the books I was fascinated at how old some books were. They were older from me and Pakistan
as well. The covers damaged and papers full of dust have thousand stories to tell and hold a
treasure of knowledge. Mostly they cover political subjects but you can find religious, cultural
and books covering economic subjects as well. There are magazines, newspapers, Reports,
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias as if they have created a whole different world in this part of the
Assembly.

Challenges:
Initially I was reluctant to work in library as I was already familiar with my work in Women
Parliamentary Caucus where I was placed before. Koha cataloging and the OCLC Classification
service was quite new to me and it seemed that I will never be able to learn these. I took notes in
pad and use to take help from those which took hours to catalogue few books. I was getting
frustrated as I wanted to learn it in no time and the dust from the shifting was getting on my
nerves. It wasn’t making sense to me and I was kind of giving up. But looking at my colleagues
and the progress they were making gave me hope. The staff of the library and the tea they serve
saved my month. I learned and now I enter many books in an hour although I have a long way to
go as I am still unfamiliar with some features of the services.

Learning:

I learned Koha cataloging and OCLC classification which I will add to my resume and will give
me a plus point. Sometimes in my mind I think that now I can also work as a librarian as I have
learned the classification, shelving and all other knowledge required for it. Moreover, working in
a library is wonderful in so many ways as you have a lot of options to do in your free time.
Usually I start my day in the library by reading newspaper as they receive one from each news
agency. It helps me keep in touch of what is happening around the country and the world.
Similarly, I also try to read some books which I find interesting during cataloguing. Currently I
am reading “Afghanistan: Key to a Continent” by John C. Griffiths which I took from the library.
This book has helped me to understand the current situation in Afghanistan in a better way. So
along with work I am enriching my knowledge as well.