President Dr. Arif Alvi on Saturday while laying a great emphasis on archiving the collection of books digitally said that the future of the country depended on the education and knowledge. He said that the digitalization of historical books and material was necessary. President Dr. Arif Alvi expressed these views in the launching ceremony of the 1st Karachi Festival of Books and libraries at Governor House. The President said that the books played vital role in developing association with others. He said, ‘Access to Information has become easy these days,’ which was difficult in the past. He further said that in their times they were used to sit with their teachers for years to gain knowledge. President Dr. Arif Alvi while referring to the present era said that it was a strange period of time in which children prefer using mobile over reading books. He said that his grandson and granddaugher did not read books except those of the school syllabus. The President said that he was fond of reading books and he gave its credit to his parents. Dr. Alvi said that he read approximately 30 to 40 books in a year. He said that the Muslims had worked hard on libraries whereas they entered in the field of Press in 1730 or 1735 almost 300 years late than the rest of the world due to some reservations. He said that 20.62 million children were out-of-school and it was a big challenge. Earlier, Co-founders of the festival Aziz Memon and Syed Khalid Mahmood, President of Karachi Library Association (KLA) Farheen Mahmood and others spoke on the occasion. Later, the President Dr. Arif Alvi distributed shields. Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)’s former Bureau Chief Abdul Qadir Qureshi and former Sports Report Ehsan Qureshi were also among the recipients. Sabah.