Muhammad Mujahid Syed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – "During my 38-year stay in the Kingdom I bear witness to the changes it has gone through. The education sector, business and city infrastructure, all have gone through unbelievable changes," said Arsala Tooti Khan Al-Yousufi, former lecturer Faculty of Engineering & Environmental Libraries, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah. In an exclusive interview with Saudi Gazette, the veteran Pakistani expatriate provided glimpses of his long, arduous yet successful journey of his life and illustrated career in the field of the library science in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Al-Yousufi, an intellectual Yusufzai Pathan is a long-time resident of the Jeddah. Born in Swat, Pakistan in 1942, Al-Yousufi belonged to a poor and non-educated family. "When I was an six-month old my mother died. My stepmother Zarina took the responsibility for my nourishment and care and made me what I am today," he said. Al-Yousufi had to rear and drive donkeys, cut the wood from the jungle to sell it in the market and do other menial jobs to meet ends. His eldest brother didn't have any interest in his studies. "My brother wanted to go to Bombay where our elder sister used to live. He buried his books on the top of a hill making a minaret that would remind him of the fact that the books buried deep would never climb down the hill to torment him again," said Al-Yousufi. Unlike his older brother's lack of interest in the studies, Al-Yousufi was dying to go to school. He was 12 years old when he first enrolled into Wadoodiya High School, Saidu Sharif's primary section. The teachers, due to his age, mocked at him, but Al-Yousufi soon proved his worth passing with flying colors. He continued doing menial jobs to support his family while carving a future for himself. During his service in Jahanzeb College, Swat he was able to receive the bachelor of library science B.L.S. degree from Peshawar University and diploma in archives, preservation and administration from Peshawar Museum. He received his master of library science degree from Karachi University with work scholarship. Interestingly, Al-Yousufi was the only master degree holder in this field in the provinces of Balochistan and the Frontier (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) when he applied for a job in 1969 in Peshawar University. Another master's degree holder in library science in those days was Dr. Abdul Subooh Qasimi, who later became librarian of Ummul Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Al-Yousufi soon became the chief librarian at Islamabad University after which, he joined US Aid Mission Islamabad. "Although there was a ban on employment those days yet I was lucky to get a special permission from Washington in this regard and was appointed chief librarian at the US Aid Mission. Dr. Lane, field director of the Library of Congress, in a visit, appreciated my performance," he said. "On my request the US Mission made an arrangement for a mosque and the Friday prayers were arranged at the Government Hostel of Pakistan," he added. "Meanwhile, the Saudi delegation visited Pakistan and I, as a librarian, was the top listed among the 14 candidates who were selected by it for the University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran that is now known as King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. "I stayed there for two years and went to Atlanta, Georgia, United States for higher studies in 1977. I was interviewed by Dr. Muhammad Muhammad Omar Jamjoom in Indianapolis and got selected by him. This selection opened a new chapter of my professional life in Saudi Arabia. I joined the Faculty of Engineering Library King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah," he said. Talking about his job, he said: "I made engineering library a computerized library. My main job was to set the library, technically process the books, to establish text book center, to feed the documents to the computer, to guide the students to the required literature, to develop inter-library system." Recruiting non-teaching staff was also part of his job. "I had to work in different computer committees for the automation of the library. I had to write the minutes as secretary. We didn't have any scarcity of budget to select, purchase and technically process the books. Those days we had plenty of funds for project-supporting books too. At the completion of the project the concerned books were donated to our library. Even, individual professors used to donate the books to our library. I had sufficient staff and everyone was cooperative. By the time I left the Faculty of Engineering Library, the university had more donated books than the books that were purchased for the engineering college from the university budget. I still remember Sharbatly donated SR20,000 for the subscription of important magazines and periodicals. When I was transferred to the Faculty of Environment Design that library too was established by the donation," he recalled. In an answer to a question, he said: "The Internet has affected the appetite of the book reading habits of the people resulting in the downfall of branch libraries in addition to the central libraries. For the time being, the future of books is not in danger due to competition with e-books. Some people call the information available on the Internet, flood of the knowledge, but actually it can be called as the flood of information. Most of the important books are still in their old book form. There is still a long way to go. Earlier there were hand-written reports." Al-Yousufi is a fan of the famous poet and thinker Allama Iqbal. He has four sons and three daughters. He is thankful to Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, Dr. Muhammad Muhammad Omar Jamjoom, Dr. Husni Azizur Rahman, Dr. Osman Khafaji, Yusuf Abdul Kabeer Niyazi, Dr. Abdul Majeed Ismail Daghestani, Professor Abdulrahman A. Meccawy, Dr. Mubeen and Abul Fadhl Adil Kattan for their kindness and love for him.
