National workshop for 10 Regional libraries ends in Mpraeso

Mpraeso, Feb. 22, GNA - A three-day national workshop for the 10 Regional Librarians and other national officers of the Ghana Library Board ended at Mpraeso in the Kwahu South District on Friday. The participants were taken through topics like the impact of mobile library services on basic education, bringing knowledge to the door-steps of users and Mobile Library Service in Ghana, lessons from the past and strategies for its sustainability. Addressing the workshop on the theme: "Ensuring a satisfactory mobile library service delivery, the need for a responsive policy", the Acting Executive Director of the Ghana Library Board, Mr Omare Tinkorang said there used to be a vibrant nation-wide mobile library service in the country some years ago but it had collapsed due to inadequate funding.

He said there were Mobile Vans, which carried assorted reading materials and showed films on topical issues to its clients in rural and pre-urban areas who could not travel to the urban centres. Mr Tinkorang said the programme, which hitherto was acclaimed the best public library outreach service to deprived communities in tropical Africa South of the Sahara, totally collapsed by 1982 due to the lack of funds to replace old mobile vans and torn-out books. He appealed to the participants to focus on the theme of the workshop, which had been selected to ensure responsive mobile library service in the country.

Mr Tinkorang also appealed to all stakeholders such as regional co-ordinating councils (RCC), metropolitan, municipal, district assemblies (MMDAS), NGOs, traditional authorities and the media to assist the Ghana Library Board in terms of fund raising, logistics support, publicity and continued collaboration to ensure sustainable mobile library service in the country.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, said the introduction of mobile library service was a laudable idea since it would ensure easy access to information materials to people in the remote communities, which hitherto had no access to static libraries. He said information could become useless if it was not timely, relevant and accurate.

Mr Affram Asiedu said public library played an integral role in the emotional, psychological, educational, socio economical, political and cultural development of the people and also enhanced the standard of education in the country.