National library project for Accra

The government is to build a national library in Accra to house rare literary and cultural materials. The library will be directly under the Presidency.

The Ghana Library Board ( GLB) has been tasked to work out the modalities for the implementation of the project which will be carried out in collaboration with the Carnegie Institute of the United States of America. The Minister of Education, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, said in an interview that the George Padmore Library is to be given a face-lift to house the national library.

He said libraries contribute a lot to national development and called for maximum efforts to ensure the success of the project.

He added that libraries portray the entire history of a society and are, therefore, vital for the social and cultural development of the country.

Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi expressed concern over the fact that libraries in the country have completely ran down through years of neglect.

He noted that a society without a library where tourists can easily have access to information on its history and culture is a society which is not ready to inform others of its heritage.

Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi, whose ministry will supervise the project, expressed regret that Ghana with all its rich cultural heritage has no central point where its historical and socially significant materials are assembled.

He said 62 libraries nationwide are all to undergo a massive renovation exercise to bring them to the standard that will meet the pressures of academic work from the growing youth population.

The Director of the GLB, Mrs Susanna Minyilah, said the GLB has been tasked with the responsibility to map out the entire scheme that will facilitate the realisation of the national library project.

She said discussions with the present government seem to be giving life to the idea of a national library which has been on the drawing board for years.

Mrs Minyilah pointed out that the project will facilitate the storage of knowledge in book form , music and critical national artefacts which will be of interest not only to the Ghanaian public but also to foreigners who will want to learn more about the country.

She said her office is putting together all the stakeholders who have significant interest in getting the country a national library so that the modalities for achieving the objective can be planned and executed.