Five-year plan to revamp SHS libraries
The Ghana Library Authority (GLA) has developed a five-year programme to revamp libraries in all senior high schools (SHSs) in the country.
Known as the “SHS Library Transformation Programme”, the GLA will equip, resource and revamp the libraries with funding from the Ministry of Education.
The Chief Executive of the GLA, Mr Hayford Siaw, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, explained that under the programme, the GLA would train all librarians in the SHSs to give them the relevant skills and knowledge to manage the libraries more effectively and efficiently.
“This is because the bedrock upon which a library will function well depends on the people manning them.
Even if we buy all the updated journals, books and furniture and computers and the people to manage them are not trained, we will not make any meaningful impact,” he said.
Zoning
Mr Siaw said the training programme was envisaged to take place over a period of one month and would be carried out in batches, adding that the GLA had the country divided into four zones for the training purpose.
He said the first zone comprised SHSs in the Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo and Bono East regions and would begin from August 19 to 21, 2019, while the second zone would commence from September 2 to 4 and had schools in the Greater Accra, Central, Western and Western North regions.
The third zone would involve schools in the Central, Volta and Oti regions from September 9 to 11, with the last zone, comprising the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Savanna and North Western regions, concluding the training session from September 23 to 25.
He said in zoning the regions, the GLA took into consideration the number of schools in each zone and cited for example that zone three contained only three regions because of the high concentration of schools in the Central Region.
Training
Mr Siaw said the GLA would assemble experienced librarians from the Information Studies Department of the UG and the GLA who would move from one zone to another.
“We believe that if every librarian in the country is trained, they can go back well-equipped to effectively and efficiently manage the libraries in their schools.
He said staff from the GLA would be going round the schools to monitor how the librarians were putting into practice what they had learnt.
Integrated system
Mr Siaw also said an Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) was being introduced such that by the close of the year, all librarians in SHSs could log onto a system that would allow them to put their catalogue, that is the books that they had, into the system so that when students checked books in and out, they could reflect in the system.
“The GLA will do the same for the public libraries,” he said.