Board Of Library Authority Tasked To Transform The System

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education on Friday charged the board of Ghana Library Authority (GLA) to support management to undertake the needed transformation to provide world class library services in the country.

He said he was expecting the board to digitise the Authority and the automation of its processes, protection and upgrading of property, diversify its revenue streams and build capacity of staff to meet international standards.

The Minister said this on Friday when he inaugurated a 16-member board of the Authority in Accra.

The Board members were Dr Helen R. Asamoah-Hassan; Chairman and government Nominee, Mr Albert Hanford Siaw, the Executive Director of GLA, Mrs Eva Haizel, Ministry of Education, Dr Emmanuel Adjei, Department of Library Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Michael A. Tagoe, Institute of Adult Education and Mrs Lily Fati Soale, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Others were; Ms Barbara B. Norteye, Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, Mr Nicholas Buabeng, National Teachers Training Council, Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, Department of Social Welfare, Mr Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath, Ministry of Information, Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Christian Council of Ghana, and Reverend Father Michael Awuah-Ansah, National Catholic Secretariat.

The rest were; Alhaji Mamah G. Mohammed, Nominee for Chief Imam, Mrs Olivia Opoku-Adomah, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Mr Kofi Sakyiama Antiri, Minister's Nominee, and Ms Lucy Amanda Asamoah, Ghana National Association of Teachers.

The governing board of the Authority was expected to establish, equip, manage and maintain public libraries in the country.

Dr Prempeh urged the Board to ensure that the Authority performed its duty satisfactorily as outlined by the law in an account of honesty, discipline and sense of duty.

He urged the board to retool the schools and college departments to support provision of training for tutor librarians and resource distribution to support secondary schools under the free Senior High Schools.

Dr Prempeh said the country had 49 libraries across the regions and was optimistic that the board would work with management to expand its network of libraries to serve the citizenry.

He stressed that libraries were to be spaced for long life learning and that the right to knowledge must be made available and accessible to all, especially to those in the rural communities.

'It is my expectations that your decisions and actions as a board will contribute to increase in the numbers of quality of libraries ready to contribute to an overall improvement in the education of Ghanaians', he added.

He assured the Board of government support and admonished them to work diligently to justify the confidence reposed in them by President Akufo-Addo.

The Chairperson of the Board thanked the President for the appointment and pledged their resolute support to work according to their responsibilities to turn the fortunes of the Authority.