Chughtai Public Library

What Chughtai Public Library does

Chughtai Public Library (CPL) is a nonprofit public library system founded in 2013 and operated by the Chughtai Foundation, headquartered at 1A Canal Park, Gulberg-II, Lahore, Pakistan. The organization maintains a collection of 210,000+ printed books and 63,298+ digitized volumes spanning art, culture, science, education, jurisprudence, medicine, and philosophy, and serves 18,852+ active members across 13+ physical locations in Lahore, Quetta, Nankana Sahib, Depalpur, Mailsi, Alipur, and specialized reading rooms inside Mayo Hospital and for medical students on Jail Road. Beyond traditional borrowing, CPL runs a mobile Library on Wheels outreach service, a Human Library living-book program, an Audio Books collection for the visually impaired, a children's section (ages 5-15) with summer camps and science workshops, a CSS exam preparation collection, and free amenities including WiFi, reading rooms, and pantry services.

The technology backbone is the open-source Koha Library Management System with an OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) at opac.chughtailibrary.com for search by author, title, subject, keyword, and call number, paired with a Digital Library portal hosting digitized books and audio. Distinctive cultural-heritage projects include the Partition Stories of 1947 oral history collection (research partnership with Harvard University since October 2022), the Historic Monuments of Lahore documentation initiative, and a multi-phase digitization partnership with the National Archives of Pakistan (initial MoU October 2022, second-phase MoU August 2025).

CPL operates a free-membership model with no fees for access to collections, programs, or amenities. The library generates nominal earned income from pay-per-use photocopying and printing services at the Main Library (A4 black-and-white PKR 3 single-sided / PKR 5 double-sided; color PKR 40; online print PKR 10) and is sustained primarily through donations, book donations, sponsorships, and parent-foundation underwriting by the Chughtai Foundation. CPL does not publish financial statements, funding rounds, or operating budgets. Marketing and member acquisition are community-led, relying on events (Summer Camps, Book Talks, World Book & Copyright Day), word-of-mouth, and organic social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.

Name

Chughtai Public Library

Legal name

Chughtai Public Library

Website

https://chughtailibrary.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chughtai Public Library is a Lahore-based nonprofit operating 13+ library branches across Pakistan, offering free access to 210,000+ printed and 63,298+ digitized books, plus mobile outreach, children's programs, and oral-history digitization projects with Harvard and the National Archives of Pakistan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Library Operations & Community Branch Management (EDAEAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Library Collections & Cataloging Services (Acquisitions, Metadata, Circulation) (EDAEAGAE)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Digital library access
• Community literacy programs
• Cultural heritage digitization
• Reading room facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Lahore

HQ country

Pakistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Free Membership: The library offers free membership to everyone, serving as the primary community engagement model. Revenue is not generated from membership fees but through donations, sponsorships, and supplementary services.
2. Photocopying and Printing Services: Pay-per-use photocopying and printing services at the Main Library (Canal Park). Users pay for photocopies and prints of reference and personal materials.
3. Donations and Book Donations: The library accepts book donations and monetary contributions through its donation program, supporting collection growth and operational sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chughtai Public Library is a nonprofit multi-branch public library system in Pakistan that provides free access to a collection of 210,000+ printed books and 63,298+ digitized books. The library operates 13+ physical branches across Lahore, Quetta, and other cities, complemented by an OPAC catalog system, a Digital Library portal, and community outreach programs such as Library on Wheels. It also delivers cultural heritage initiatives including the Human Library, Partition Stories of 1947 oral history project (partnered with Harvard University), and Historic Monuments of Lahore digitization.

Product overview

Chughtai Public Library operates as a multi-branch public library system in Pakistan with a main library in Lahore Canal Park and numerous branch locations including reading rooms, specialized libraries, and the Library on Wheels mobile service. The organization offers a comprehensive digital ecosystem anchored by its OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) system for catalog search, a Digital Library portal for digitized collections, and physical library services. Key products include the Library on Wheels mobile outreach, Human Library living-book program, Historic Monuments of Lahore digitization project, and Partition Stories of 1947 oral history collection (in partnership with Harvard University). The library serves diverse communities through Children's Section, CSS exam preparation resources, Audio Books for accessibility, and the Chughtai Book Club. Physical services encompass reference assistance, photocopying/printing, free WiFi, pantry facilities, and free membership. CPL also produces its own publications including newsletters and books through its CPL Publications division.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Library on Wheels: Mobile library initiative transporting books to less privileged areas
• Human Library
• Chughtai Book Club
• Digital Library
• Children's Library
• Audio Books

Products and services

• OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue)

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,852+ active members served across Pakistan
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Harvard UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2022CPL serves as the proud research partner with Harvard University for the collection of 1947 Partition Stories. This oral history project collects and preserves firsthand accounts of Partition survivors and witnesses.
• National Archives of PakistancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2022MoU signing ceremony for digitization of rare and historical documents. The partnership has progressed to a second phase of the Rare Books Digitization Project, focusing on preserving Pakistan's literary heritage and making historical documents accessible digitally.
• AkhuwatmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 September 2021Collaborated with Akhuwat for the inauguration of the Library on Wheels mobile library project at Governor House, Lahore. Akhuwat, a microfinance institution, partners on this social impact initiative to bring books to underserved communities.
• Chughtai Institute of PathologyminorOthersInternal partnership providing library services to staff and students of Chughtai Institute of Pathology at their Jail Road, Lahore location.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Room to Read: International nonprofit focused on literacy and girls' education, operating school libraries and reading programs across South Asia and globally. Comparable as a mission-driven nonprofit building library infrastructure for underserved populations.
• Internet Archive: Nonprofit digital library offering free access to digitized books, audio, and cultural materials. Comparable as a digital-first library providing free public access to cultural and historical collections through a digitization-driven platform.
• Bibliothèque Sans Frontières (Libraries Without Borders): International nonprofit deploying mobile and pop-up libraries to underserved communities. Directly comparable through the 'Library on Wheels' mobile-outreach model CPL operates with Akhuwat.

Others

• Book Aid International: UK-based nonprofit that donates books to libraries across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player supporting library capacity-building, book donations, and literacy infrastructure that benefits similar end-user communities.
• Lahore Museum: Pakistan's principal heritage museum located in Lahore, curating historical artifacts and exhibits on regional culture. Comparable through CPL's Historic Monuments of Lahore heritage-preservation initiative, which pursues a similar cultural-heritage digitization mission in the same city.
• Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA): Federal body operating cultural and heritage institutions including archives and reference collections in Islamabad. Comparable as an adjacent cultural-heritage and preservation institution with overlapping digitization and historic-document mandates.

Broad incumbents

• British Council Libraries (Pakistan): Operates physical and digital library services in Pakistan with a similar focus on free public access to books and English-language learning. Comparable as an established, donor-funded library network serving overlapping urban Pakistani audiences.
• National Library of Pakistan: The country's flagship public reference and lending library under federal oversight. Comparable as a national-scale public library operation that also engages in preservation and reference services, though larger and government-funded.

Regional players

• Karachi Metropolitan Library: Municipal library system serving Pakistan's largest city, Sindh. Comparable as a publicly-oriented library operation, but geographically distinct from CPL's Punjab-centered footprint.

Direct peers

• Punjab Public Library (Lahore): Historic public library in Lahore serving students, researchers, and the general public. Direct peer given overlapping geographic catchment, free-membership positioning, and similar mandate to make knowledge accessible to the public.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Linaleona69
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ChughtaiPublicLibrary
• Facebookfacebook.com/chughtaipubliclibrary
• Instagraminstagram.com/chughtaipubliclibrary
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chughtaipubliclibrary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chughtai Public Library