8                                Richard H. Logsdon

Afghan librarians with special training. This library serves as the
Kabul Public Library, and is operated essentially as a similar insti¬
tution would be in the United States. It has a collection of approx¬
imately 50,000 volumes, many of them in English. There is a full-
time staff of four persons. Five thousand readers are currently
registered.

The library of the Press Department has a similarly large col¬
lection, not only serving the staff of the department, but open to
the public for research purposes. A^sits were made, also, to the
Foreign Office, the Department of Agriculture and to the National
Bank."

As in the university, there was evidence on every side of a
burgeoning interest in strengthening library resources and serv¬
ices along modern lines. There was little need to "sell" the idea
of libraries to the officials directly responsible. In most instances
they had a precise idea of what was desired of their libraries; their
difficulty was in finding (or sparing from other important tasks)
the skilled manpower needed to carry out their ideas. Accordingly
key recommendations for the government libraries were: (i) to
upgrade the status of librarians in the civil service hierarchy;
(2) locate additional university graduates for special training there
or abroad; and (3) develop a government-wide plan for sharing
responsibility for different subject areas. It is expected that a
commission representing the various departments of government
and the university will be created to carry these suggestions
forward.

I am told that "Ariana," the ancient name for Afghanistan,
means "land of polite people." It is also a land of friendly people.
A return trip would be a pleasure.