80 Per Cent Of Books At Accra Library Outdated

It is estimated that about 80 per cent of the books at the Accra Regional Library at the Ghana Library Board is outdated.

“Most of the books we have in the library are as old as the library itself,” the Regional Librarian, Mr Adjei Apenteng, told the Daily Graphic.

He said restocking of the library had been done in the past by the government and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), adding that although others used to donate to the board, they had stopped, leaving the government and the GETFund alone to support it.

According to him, the library had initiated moves to get computerised as part of the efforts to bring it up to standard.

Mr Apenteng noted that patronage of the library was poor and that it was only during examination time that patronage shot up.

“Even with that people come with their own materials to read. People doing professional examinations also utilise the facility,” he said.

Statistics made available to the Daily Graphic indicate that while 221 people registered in 2006, 179 registered in 2007, with 143 registering in 2008.

In addition, 3,187 books were borrowed in 2006, while 2,768 and 2,032 were borrowed in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Mr Apenteng said as part of efforts to encourage reading in schools, the Ghana Library Board had started piloting the mobile library system under which vans with books moved to schools.

He said the mobile library system, which collapsed about 25 years ago, was being piloted in the 10 regions to whip up the interest of reading in children.

He said the board was using vans provided by UNESCO and could expand the services if it owned more vans.

He said sometimes the board bought books to stock the library but noted that some of the people who patronised the library pilfered the books.

He urged parents to encourage their children to read. Mr Apenteng also encouraged district assemblies to establish libraries at the local level.