Membership and Borrowing Rules

1). The following categories of persons are allowed to draw books from the library for use at home after submitting a duly attested (by their head of the department) membership prescribed form. The application form contains a declaration of intention to obey the rules of the Library and to pay fines or charges which may be incurred in case of any violation of library rules by the applicant.

  • Faculty members of the University, University Research Fellows, Research Scholars and Research Assistants.
  • Ph.D, M.Phil and Post Graduate students of the Punjab University
  • B.A./B.Sc. and B.Com. students enrolled in the University.
  • A Class Officers of the University and permanent University Employees preparing for post-graduate examinations.
  • Trained Librarians, working in the University Departments and Librarians working in the Punjab University Library.

2). A card known as the Borrowers Card will be issued to each of the persons permitted to draw books from the Library under regulation 1. Such cards shall be strictly non-transferable and shall have to be presented at the counter at the time of drawing and returning books, etc. A borrower, who loses his card, should at once inform the Chief Librarian in writing. A duplicate card will be issued to him on payment of a fee of Rs. 100/- provided that no book will be issued to a student member unless he presents his Borrowers card in person along with his identity card or applies by post sending his card with the application.

3). Casual visitors as may obtain the special written permission of the Chief Librarian, will be permitted to use the Library for the purpose of reading and reference during good behaviour, but must be prepared to furnish the Chief Librarian with evidence of their identity.

4). A borrower of category (a) will be entitled to have in his possession at a time not more than six books. Each book shall be returned within a period of one month from the date of its issue. Provided that a whole time University Professor or Associate Professor may have in his possession a maximum number of ten books at a time and may return these within a period of three months from the date of their issue.

5). Borrowers of category (b) may have in their possession not more than 4 books at a time. Borrowers of class (c), (d), and (e) may draw three books at a time. Books drawn by borrowers under this rule shall be returned not later than two weeks from the date of issue. Borrowers belonging to out stations may, however, retain the books for a maximum period of one month.

6). Any borrower sub-lending books drawn from the Library on his card to any other person shall do so on his own responsibility.

7). Books not in great demand may be renewed on request at the discretion of the Chief Librarian.

8). Books shall be divided into three classes: A, B and C. Class A will include all specially valuable works, and all works permanently or temporarily reserved for reference use. Books in Class A shall not be removed from the Library except by special permission of the Chief Librarian. Class B will include all current numbers of periodicals. These may be borrowed but must be returned within three days. Class C will consist of all other books which may be borrowed and retained according to the provision of Regulations 4 and 5.

9). Books prescribed by the Punjab University (Text Books) for various examinations will not be issued without the special permission of the Chief Librarian. These when borrowed must be returned within three days.

10). Books for the summer vacation will be issued by special permission, and these must be returned as soon as the vacation is over. Books having their due date in holiday or some vacation shall be returned right after the end of the holiday or vacation if not possible before the holiday/vacation otherwise fine will be charged.

11). A fine of Re.1/- per volume per day will be charged for an ordinary book, in case books are retained longer than the period prescribed for each category of borrowers. The fine will in all cases be calculated from the date on which the books should have been returned. Provided that in the case of text-books, current periodicals and books issued with the special permission of the Chief Librarian, the fine shall be Rs.2/- per volume per day. Provided further that a borrowers right to draw books from the Library may be suspended during the period he does not return overdue books or pay the amount due from him. Provided also that the roll numbers of such student borrowers as fail to return the University Library books or pay their dues shall not be sent to their colleges until they have returned the books or paid the dues and have produced a certificate from the Librarian to that effect.

12). Books not returned on due date lay down under the regulations and reported to have been lost, shall be paid for immediately on the expiry of the prescribed limit of time, and this amount shall in no case be refundable. The amount payable to the Library shall be determined by the Chief Librarian.

13). Borrowers whom wish to have books sent out of Lahore must deposit the present postal charges of registered post.

14). A security deposited under any of the foregoing Regulations shall lapse to the University if it remains unclaimed for a period of three years from the date on which a borrower ceases to be a member of the Library.

15). Readers and members shall not damage, mark or write upon any book, periodical, map or manuscript, nor shall they trace or perform mechanical reproduction of any material belonging to the Library. Readers and members who violate this Regulation shall be required to pay the fine imposed by the Chief Librarian or to replace the damaged material, or to pay its price as determined by the Chief Librarian. If one volume of a set is injured, and it is not available separately, the whole set shall have to be replaced or paid for. A damaged book or set, which has been replaced or paid for by a borrower, shall become his property.

Borrowers and readers are advised to inspect books at the time of issue and to call the attention of the Librarian to any defects, etc.

16). The Chief Librarian may, at his discretion, reduce or remit the delay fine incurred by a borrower.

17). Such borrowers as abuse their privilege will be reported to the Library Committee for appropriate action.



General Rules

  • Leave any type of printed material or your personal belongings such as handbags, briefcases, etc., on the counter at the librarys entrance, on your own responsibility. The users are advised not to leave expensive items as the library disclaims any liability for loss or damage.
  • Complete silence should be observed in the library except for brief and subdued talk with the library staff. Strict decorum and discipline must be maintained in the Library. Users must ensure that rights of other users of the Library are not breached in anyway by their own acts of commission or demission.
  • Smoking, eating, sleeping and talking loudly are strictly prohibited.
  • Cell phones should be kept silent while using the library.
  • Library furniture, fittings or equipment must not be misused or their arrangement altered.
  • Photography is not permitted unless permission is sought - via Security staff in the first instance.
  • Do not write, underline or mark any book. Library books are carefully examined on return and the borrower will be held responsible for the damage.
  • After reading, leave books on the tables or on the book trolley. Please do not shelve the books.
  • Report lost books or other materials to the library immediately to stop overdue fines.
  • In case of lost Library Card, please immediately report at circulation counter to the staff so that your membership is temporarily blocked to prevent misuse of the Library Card.
  • While returning library books or other materials at the Circulation Desk please ensure that the circulation staff has returned the book(s).
  • Ask for help from library staff if you are unable to find your required material.
  • Photocopying service is available for bonafide members of the library at nominal charges on photocopy shop. All photocopying must comply with copyright legislation. Some items in the Library cannot be copied because of copyright laws, poor condition, or donor restrictions.
  • Anyone who violates the rules and regulations of the Library may be debarred from using the Library facilities or other punishments due for breach of law or norms of public order and decency.




CD/DVD Service Policy

Library purchases books in a large number in each fiscal year. These books cover different disciplines which are being taught in the university. These books are purchased from local publishers and import from other countries too.

Normally, books on science subjects are being import. Usually, science subject books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, GRE, GMAT, SAT, IELTS and TOEFL etc. are accompanied with CD/DVD or some sort of username and password to access a specific website to get associated data along-with that book. This data helps researchers to get more in-depth knowledge of that topic. As this data is accompanied with the purchased item, so it can not available in the market otherwise.

Library professionals separate these CDs/DVDs or username etc. and send them in “Preservation & Conservation Section” of the library. In this section, this material is labeled and arranged according to a specific scheme for fast retrieval. Details of these items are being recorded in digital library metadata. Currently there are 2,000+ items in this collection.

Library users can search this material by title, author or subject in digital library. If they found required item there, they need to write down its accession no. or serial no. and contact to preservation section to access it. At preservation section, users can consult their required items and may copy them in their laptop without any charges.

IT Lab

In order to keep pace with technological advancement especially with the boom in Information Technology, an Internet Lab was started in December, 1999. With 65 PCs which were gradually increased to 150 and extended up to 350 till now. IT Lab of the Punjab University Library is one of the busiest labs of the University. Students from all departments come here. There are about 5000 registered members of Internet Lab and the numbers are increasing continuously.

Internet Lab Rules

  • Only a member of the Library will be eligible to get the registration.
  • Internet user registration fee will be Rs. 100/-
  • For getting a printout, Rs. 3/- per page will be charged for black & white printing.
  • Users will be liable to pay for any damage to the system or any other damages.


Digitized Material

Library holds manuscripts, newspapers, rare items and other documents of historical importance in its collection. These items need to be preserved for future use and to fulfill the research needs of researchers in country or from abroad. In all this process, intellectual property and copyright laws are keenly observed.

In this context, heavy duty relevant equipment is available in Preservation section. Relevant section heads receive requests of digital copy of a specific item through proper channel from researchers, receive charges as already decided by University administration and send the document in Preservation section.

In preservation section, first of all, physical condition of document examines and then decides about suitable scanner device. High resolution color scans are being made which further editing. These scans are edited with an image editor and exclude unnecessary details. After this process, scans are saved for computer reading or getting printouts.

Digitized material is being provided to concerned researchers after getting charges as decided by university administration. The details of these charges are as following:

Photocopy /printing and CD writing rules for Manuscripts and Rare Books

A- Photocopy/printing and CD rates for Pakistanis


  • Paper copy Rs.10 for PU faculty & Scholars
  • Paper copy non members Rs.50/ page (Pakistanis only)
  • CD rates= five times of photocopy/print rate

B- Photocopy/printing and CD rates for foreigners


  • Paper copy $ 1/ page
  • CD $ 5/ page (postal charges excluded )

Library Security Measures

The basic responsibility of the library administration is to ensure the safety and security of library materials, library users and its staff members. For this purpose, PU library has arranged both physical and electronic measures as following:

Physical Security Measures

Library Security Staff

Library has security personnel for physical security of library building and its surroundings. These personnel remain alert on their duties 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week.

Display of Emergency Phone Numbers

Contact Nos. of university administration, army, police, fire-brigade and other helping agencies are displayed at various places in the library. These nos facilitate library users and staff to contact concerned authorities in case of emergency.

Bag Checking

Library users are restricted to take their large bags inside the library. A separate token counter is available in the library to put personal belongings of library users there. Counter staff remain vigilant about the submitted items there and issue a token to the concerned person. Library users get their belonging back after the submission of token.

Keys Control

Only library security staff is entitled to hold the keys of different locks in their possession. Library entrance gates get sealed after library closing and off sealed in opening hours in the presence of senior professional staff.

Window and Door Protection

Library windows and doors are double protected with glass and iron net through which sunlight and fresh air passes and restricts library material to pass outside illegally.

Display Case Protection

Some original pieces and color prints of unique and rare items including manuscripts in library collection are kept in locked glass displays for the orientation and interest of library users.

Manual Fire Extinguishers

A number of fire extinguishers have been attached with library walls to be operated by library staff and users if any case of accidental fire occurs. Library administration trains its staff members occasionally about the functioning of this equipment.

Emergency Sirens

Library has deployed emergency sirens and emergency gates to evacuate library users and staff members in emergency condition.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) & Power Generators

UPS, power generator system and charging lights are available in the library to provide electricity backup in case of electricity failure.

Electronic Security Measures

Book Detection System

Radio Frequency (RF) security system has been adopted by library administration to protect library material from their stealing. Implementation of RF security system has produce very positive results.

Access Control System

Library has controlled access system for library users to enter in the library. For this, library administration has issued barcode cards to library users which need to be scanned while entering the library. Same barcode card is further used for charging and discharging of library material. This arrangement helps library administration to keep record of library users and restrict non- members to enter in the library.

Fire Alarm System

Library has deployed automatic fire alarm system in different sections. This system automatically alarms when it feels some sort of fire near around.

Surveillance Camera System

A surveillance camera system is functioning in the library. These cameras watch the movement of library users in inner part of library collection and building. Enough arrangements have been taken to record the video made by these cameras.



HEC Plagiarism Policy

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has implemented anti-plagiarism policy in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country. The main purpose of implementing this policy is to develop a culture of production of original research in the research institutes. In this connection, HEC took the subscription of iThenticate anti-plagiarism software in 2007 and implemented it its recognized institutes. iThenticate was soon replaced with Turnitin anti-plagiarism and implemented in 2008.

Implementation of Turnitin produced very positive results and a culture of producing plagiarism free contents has been evolving. HEC has provided guidelines and training modules for convenience of researchers which can be accessed at

HEC plagiarism policy can be accessed here

Implementation of Turnitin in University of the Punjab

Punjab University administration has declared Chief Librarian, Punjab University Library (PUL) as focal person for Turnitin issues for HEC. The University has given the responsibility to Chief Librarian of issuing certificate to research works as plagiarism free. In this context, all M.Phil, Ph.D dissertations and faculty research publications are bound to get plagiarism free certificate before their submission in the University. To make this process convenient, Turnitin accounts have been created for faculty members and departmental librarians. Research scholars can contact to their supervisor or departmental librarian to pass through their research work from Turnitin before applying for final certificate.

REPORT REGARDING STUDENTS’ MANEUVERING OF THESES CDS SUBMITTED FOR ANTI-PLAGIARISM CHECK

  • A number of MPhil/PhD scholars have been found using false tactics to maneuver the theses’ CDs they submit for Turnitin software checking. It has been found that students used to replace some paragraphs of their own thesis (which they are sure, not plagiarized) with the paragraphs they have plagiarized to meet the required word length of the thesis. In certain cases the supervisor found completely unaware regarding such practices of the students.

  • Therefore to regulate such malpractices of the students, the academic departments are instructed to please send an email through the official account of the student’s supervisor. This email sent by the supervisor should contain the following information and details:

       a.    The name of the student, his/her academic program and session, name of the department and the title of the thesis.
       b.    The version of the thesis that the supervisor has finally approved as an attachment in MS-Word file format only.
       c.    The email should be sent on the library’s email address i.e. similaritycheck@pu.edu.pk

  • The supervisors of MPhil and PhD research work are requested to critically observe the final version of the thesis before submission as they are the only one who can qualitatively evaluate the text of the thesis for any attempt of plagiarism. Turnitin software can only provide an account of similar text between two documents and cannot judge text qualitatively.

  • With this measure the library will be able to directly contact the supervisor if it found discrepancies generated by the student and can keep the supervisor well informed.



Electronic Databases

The Digital Library Program is initiated to provide up to date information to the researchers within public and private universities of Pakistan. It is aimed that non-profit research and development organizations get access to international scholarly literature, high quality books. peer -reviwed journals, databases and articles across a wide range of subjects based on electronic (online) delivery/ retrieval system.

The program was initiated by HEC in the middle of 2003 and then on 27th February 2004 the Digital Library Program was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Atta-Ur-Rehman , Chairman Higher Education Commission, Minister in-charge of Science and Technology, after an initial workshop on Digital Library Resources sensitization and Training the Trainers.

The resources cover both scientific and humanities I social science subjects. To cover almost every aspect of studies in Pakistan, Higher Education Commission has signed license agreement with various companies and publishers from all over the world. Initially the program started from the subscription of a collection of approximately 11,600 full text joumals, but right now the resources have crossed a number of 25,000 online journals and the number is increasing. It is worth mentioning that the number of journals available in Pakistan through the Digital Library Program is more than half of the world's total online journals.

University of the Punjab is a part of Digital Library Program since the inauguration and is providing these resources to its researchers, Teachers and M. Phil. Ph.D. Students.

How to Use the Resources

How to reach the link?

Open your web browser that is commonly Microsoft lnternet Explorer installed automaticalty with your windows. Now press F4 or manually place the cursor in the address bar to write www.pulibrary.edu.pk and press enter. Now from the menu bar in the Punljab University Library website. click Services and choose HEC e-nooks/journals. It will open the page where links to all of the subscribed databases are provided. Select the appropriate one and search the database.

Copyright Law

Copy1ight law exists to protect the intellectual standing and the economic rights of creators and publishers of all literary, dramatic, artistic, musical, audio-visual and electronic works. Electronic materials have copyright in the same manner as print materials.

Agreement and License

  • All electronic resources will be subject to some license or access agreement.
  • Each resource or package will have a specific agreement.
  • Specific contractual agreements should be available from each supplier/publisher.
  • Copyright and terms of use are often include on line.

Prohibited Activities

  • Downloading and copying entire issues of volumes of any journal.
  • Commercial use of journal content, including but not limited to, providing a fee-for-copying service.
  • Altering, obscuring or removing copyright and other proprietary notices which appear as part of the journal service or appear alongside journal content.
  • Examples of Misuse

  • People from commercial companies using library facilities to access resources.
  • Printing out entire electronic journals and making copies.
  • Including large parts of articles in student workbook material.
  • All copyrights should strictly be followed morally and legally, and violation from our institution may end the subscription. <.li>
  • Information Resource Center (IRC)

    Punjab University Library has launched an 'Information Resource Centre (IRC). This centre explores the digital resources provided by HEC and facilitates its users to pursuit their academic research.

    Profiles of researchers, faculty members and M. Phil., Ph.D. students have been prepared in order to disseminate the digital resources of HEC. Online SDI service has been provided and the relevant information is then mailed to their E-Mails.

    Students can access the entire Digital Library Collection on 200 Core I3 computers provided in the Punjab University Library, Digital Library Unit.

    A separate Digital Library has been provided at Iranian Culture Centre for faculty members which works under the supervision of IRC.