(5 Oct 2026) Ask National Library of Malaysia (PNM) director-general Edy Irwan Zulkafli whether libraries still matter in an age when almost any question can be answered with a tap on a screen, and he does not hesitate.
Perhaps now more than ever was his reply. The problem today, he argued, is not a shortage of information.
It is knowing what to trust amid a torrent of social media posts, search engine results and artificial intelligence (AI) generated answers.
“In this context, PNM’s role has become even more important as an institution that provides access to high-quality, authoritative and reliable sources of information,” he said.
That shift has pushed the national institution well past its old image as a quiet building lined with bookshelves.
Today, PNM positions itself as a digital knowledge hub, research centre, community space and custodian of the country’s documentary heritage.
Find out more here.
