Annals of Library Science and Documentation 1989, 36(4), 148·152

EDUCATION FOR LIBRARIANSHIP ANDINFORMATION SCIENCE IN GHANA

The view is presented that Library Schoolsaim at training profe;sional personnel groundedin the fundamental principles and processescommon to all types of libraries and all phasesof library service. The study focuses 011 thehistorical development of the Library Schoolin Ghana, its programmes, admission require-ments, areas of specialisation and trainingfacilities. Recommendations are made f01-changes in the curriculum in order to meet thecomplex nature of information provision in themodem socie ty_

INTRODUCTION

In Africa as in other developing countries, thenecessity to train people for work in librarian-ship has followed closely the establishmentand development of libraries. But whatever thepattern in the years ahead, "the library pro·fession in West Africa will forever be indebtedto the efforts of those far-seeing librarians whoinspired their associates with some of theirown vision and zeal and laid the foundation onwhich library education could be built in thispart of the world' {1J.

The first Library Training Programme inBritish West Africa was established at Achi-mota College in the Gold Coast (now Ghana)in 1944. The aim was to train library personnelfrom Ghana, Nlgeria, Sierra Leone and Gambia.The Institute was designed for an experimentalperiod. of three years mainly to prepare WestAfrica for the First Professional Examinationof the British Library Association.

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A A ALEMNODepartment of Library and Archival StudiesUniversity of GhenaLegon, Ghana

After the collapse of this Institute, theWest African Library Association (WALA) atone of its meetings suggested that one of itsurgent tasks was "to work for the establishmentof professional training courses so as to ensurean adequate supply of trained staff for thelibraries of the New Africa" [2J. Harold Lan-cour [3] was sent by the Carnegie Corporationto carry out a survey of library conditions inWest Africa, and he suggested the establishmentof a Library School in one of the West Africancountries. It was agreed that the UniversityCollege of Ihadan was the best suited andequipped instituion for such a school.

The Carnegie Corporation accepted Lan-cour's recommendations and the Institute ofLibrarianship was established at the UniversityCollege of Ibadan in 1959. Courses began inthe 1960-61 session with the enrolment of sixstudents. Since 1965, the Institute has becomefully integrated into the Faculty of Educationas the Department of Library Studies "withthe responsibility of teaching and research intoall aspects of Library Stu dies" [4] .

LIBRARY EDUCATION IN GHANA

The situation in Ghana was a bit different. Afterthe collapse of the Library Training Programmeat Achim ota, there was no immediate plan toestablish a library school because "the govern·merit decided that the priorities of other needsare such that we must. abandon the idea for the

" , ~,p rese n t . ;Y J .

Ann Lib Sci Doc

EDUCATION FOR LlBRARIANSHIP AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN GHANA

A t the beginning of 1961, the Governmentdecided that a School of Librarinnship shouldhe established under the Ghana Library Board.After the appointment of staff, the schooleventually opened in 1962. The courses led tothe Associateship of the British Library Asso-ciation [6]. The School continued to providelibrarians for Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone,until in October, 1965 when it was moved to,and absorbed by, the University of Ghana asthe Department or Library Studies within theFaculty of Social Studies.

The original programme consisted of a three-year undergraduate course leadin~ to. a B.A. inLibrary Studies. Ten graduate librarians wereproduced in the first formative years of theDepartment [7]. In 1967, the Degrt>e coursewas changed to a two-year Graduate Diplomacourse and further reduced to a one year Gradu-ate Diploma course in 1969.

In 1975, the Department added ArchivalStudies to its programme with the assistance ofU.N.D.P. The Department of Library andArchival Studies at the University of Ghanais the only Library and Archival School inGhana. The University of Cape Coast offersLibrarianship as an elective for the BachelorsDegree in Education. There are plans in futureto convert this into a combined BachelorsDegree in Librarianship.

PROGRAMMES

The Department of Library and ArchivalStudies, University of Ghana, offers the follow-ing programmes:

a) One-year undergraduate certificate course.b) One-year undergraduate Diploma Course.c) One-year Post-graduate Diporna course.d) Two-year M.Phil course.

ADMISSIO REQUIREME TTS

Certificate

G.C.E. '0' Level passes in at least 3 subjectsinclu ding English. Candidates should have aworking experience in an established "library.They are also required to pass an entranceexamination.

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Diploma

G.C.E. '0' Level passes in at least 5 subjectsincluding English, and a pass in the Certificatein Librarianship. At least 3 years workingexperience in a library after completing thecertificate course, and must be recommendedby the Director or Head of their place ofempjoyrnent.

Graduate Diploma

A good first class degree from the University ofGhana or any equivalent degree of anotheruniversity. Must be successful in an interview tobe conducted by the Department.

M. Phil

Candidates must have obtained a GraduateDiploma in Library Studies or a good first classdegree in Library Studies. They should alsobe successful in an interview to be conductedby the Department.

FACILITlF.S

The Department is housed in its own building.Recently, this building was allgmented byanother block. It is equipped with classrooms,seminar room, conservation-cum-microphoto-graphic laboratory, departmental library, andindividual offices for the teaching staff.

The Department has been officially desig-nated by the Government of Ghana and ap-proved by the UNESCO secretariat as theNational Information Transfer Centre to co-operate with tNESCO in the InternationalInformation System on Research in Documenta-tion (ISORID). The Department is in additionan institu tional member of the InternationalFederation of Library Associations (IFLA) andthe International Council on Archives (leA).

COURSES

Certificate (One year)

1. Introduction to Librarianship (Compulsory)

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2. Organisation and Library Routines - includ-ing secretarial practice and typing. (Cornpul-sorv)

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I.

II.

Ill.

Science and TechnologySocial SciencesHumanities

3. Preparation and Use of Library Materials e) Information Technology.including collection development/conserva-tion, reprography. (Compulsory) PART II

4. Public Relations. (Compulsory)

Diploma (One Calendar year)

A project work approved by the Departmentnot exceeding 15,000 words.

Graduate Diploma (one Calendar year)

PARTI

1. Management of Libraries and Administra-tive Science (Compulsory).

2. Technical Service - including collection,building, conservation and reprography(C om pulsory ).

3. Information Science (Compulsory).

4. Reference and(Compulsory).

Bibliographical Services

5. Technical Services Practicals (Compulsory).

PART II

1. Field Experience (Compulsory),

2. Written projects (Compulsory).

AI. Phil. (2 academic years)

PART I

1. Information Science (Compulsory).

Techniques of ResearchStudies (Compulsory).

in Information

3. One of the following special areas

a) Administrative Historyb) Organisation of Information Resourcesc) information Keirievald) Sources of information

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A thesis on van approved topic of not less than50,000 words [8].

ANALYSIS

When compared to other Library Schools inEnglish-speaking West Africa such as the Univer-sity of Ibadan (Nigeria) [9] and the Universityof Maiduguri (Nigeria) [10], the admission re-quirements are basically the same for all thecourses.

Apart from formal courses leading to variouscertifications, the Departments at Ibadan,Maiduguri and Legon also organise workshopsand seminars from time to time for practisinglibrarians to enable them to keep up with thelatest developments in the field, and providesolutions to some of the problems they face atwork.

Another common feature with the LibrarySchools in the sub-region is that they organiseField Experience and Library Tours for theirstudents. This is in order, since it enables thestudents to relate theory to practice. It alsoexposes them to the different types of libraries,their systems of' operation as well as their re-sources. It may also provide opportunities forthe students to get an insight into the kind oflibraries they might wish 10 work in future.These trips may also serve as a change of en-vironment for the stu den ts.

Facilities provided in most of the LibrarySchools in the sub-region are also almost thesame. It has been found that apart fromtheir departmental libraries, the library schoolsalso make use of the main university librariesfor their practicals and other assignments.

There is however a difference in the type ofprogrammes offered in the Library Schools.Fhe Library School in Ghana is the only onein the sub-region that does not provide for astraight two-year undergraduate diploma course.

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EDUCATION FOR LIBRARIANSHIP AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN GHANA

Unlike the other Library Schools in West Africa,the University of Ghana requires that thestudents successfully complete a one-yearcertificate course before proceeding to theDiploma Course, The University of Ghana alsooffers the Graduate Diploma in Library Studieswhich has long been replaced with a MastersDegree programme in other universities, suchas University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Another major difference is in the coursestructure. Whereas other Universities in the sub-region, such as Ibadan and Maiduguri, provide awide range of courses for both the under-graduate and the post-graduate students, thisis not the case with the University of Ghana.This may partly be explained by the fact thatthe University of Ibadan and Maiduguri run thecourse unit system, while the University ofGhana does not: One of the advantages of thecourse unit system is that it exposes the studentsto many areas of librarianship.

The Library Schools at the Universities ofGhana and Ibadan are however unique becausethey are the only schools in Anglo-phone WestAfrica that offer combined courses in Librarian-ship and Archival Studies to the students. Thisis a very good idea since processing, conser-vation and exploitation of materials, whetherof primary or secondary nature, are of commonconcern to both professions. This also ensuresa more economical utilization of teachers andencourages specialisation where this is a de-sirable development.

A striking feature in the course content ofthe certificate programme of the LibrarySchool in Ghana, is the inclusion of typing as acompulsory subject. This is unique to· Ghana.Although some of the students may not be infavour of this idea, it is the feeling of the de-partment that this will help them in fu ture intheir work in the libraries.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There is a need to change drastically the syllabusof the University of Ghana to make provisionfor more specialisation. There should be morecourses on the organisation of various types oflibraries, media technology, subject- and area-bibliographies. This will help to produce "specia-

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lists who have sophisticated knowledge ofmanagement, organisational theory, and otherpertinen t fiel ds" [ 11] .

It is also recommended that the certificatecourse at the university of Ghana be changed toa straight two-years Diploma course. The aim ofthe Diploma course is to produce library per-sonnel for appointment to intermediate grad-es.The products of this course usually constitutean important back-up support for the profes-sional staff. The one-year project work shouldtherefore be replaced with more work in theclassroom which will include practicals.

Finally, it is recommended that theGraduate Diploma programme at the Universityof Ghana be replaced with a two-year MastersProgramme. The proposed programme is basedupon the premise that "there is a need formore depth in the courses offered; a need formore time to train librarians and a need forbetter coverage of outside courses relevant tothe candidate's professional education" [12].Those with the Bachelor's Degree in LibraryStudies or the Graduate Diploma in LibraryStudies should be able to complete the pro-gramme in a minimum of twelve months, sincethey will not get involved in library practiceor field experience. They will also not be re-quired to take again the traditional basic coursesin Librarianship , but will proceed at once toadvanced work in their special areas of interest.First degree holders in other disciplines musthowever spend at least two academic years.111e programme will involve course work andsubmitting a dissertation.

CONCLUSION

In any profession, no issue is more difficult ormore important than how to formulate a curri-culum. It requires a high degree of conceptua-lisation of fu ture needs of the profession. TheLibrary School must consider the present prac-tice in libraries, rationalise what should beproper and determine the type of func-tions that the librarian of the future }ViIIperform [13]. A look at the programmls ofLibrary Schools throughout the world showsthat Ghana is among the few countries in theworld still offering the Graduate Diploma Pro-

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gramme. There .has to be a change to moderntrends so as to enable our graduates fit into themainstream of the profession.

It must be realised that the establishment ofa particular programme by a Library Schoolshould not mean that it is to continue indefi-nately. The present programme at the Universityof Ghana has been in use for the past twelveyears. As suggested by Benge and Olden [14],'programmes and their content should be re-viewed regularly, overhauled when necessary,and discontinued when the profession nolonger has a place for them, as the two-yearnon-graduate course, usually leading to Asso-ciateship of the Library Association, has beendiscontinued in Britain.

The basic objective of the Department ofLibrary and Archival Studies is to play its fullpart in satisfying the manpower needs of alllibraries in Ghana. All efforts should thereforebe made by the Department in dose consulta-tion with the Ghana Library Association toachieve this objective.

REFERENCES1. Peeler, E H: Education for librarianship in West

Africa. Nig Libs 1964, 2.

2. Akinyotu, A: Training and edueation of librarypersonnel in Nigeria : an historical survey. WestAfrican J Ed 1971,15(3),10.

3. Lancour, H: Libraries in British West Africa: areport of a survey for the Carnegie Corporationof New York, Oct.-Nov. 1957,28.

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4. University of Ibadan: Calendar 1973, 256.

5. Evans, E J A: Tropical library service : the storyof Ghana's libraries London, Andre Deutsch,1964,144.

6. Evans, E J A: Ibid. 159.

7. University of Ghana. Department of Library andArchival Studies. Prospectus 1975-76. 4.

8. University of Ghana. Department of Library andArchival Studies. Prospectus 1985-86.

9. University of Ibadan. Department of Library,Archival and Information Studies, Handbook.1983/84.

10. University of Maiduguri. Department of LibraryScience. Handbook 1986.

11. Abalabu, A: Professional staff of tomorrow'sfuture in Africa University Libraries : somepostulates and proposals. Int Lib Rev 1974,6(3),303.

12. Aguolu, C C: Future of education for librarianshipin Nigeria : problems and expectations. Libri1985,35(3),267.

13. Aguolu, C C: Ibid. 262.

14. Benge, R and Olden, A: Planning factors in thedevelopment of library education in Africa.J Lib 1981, 13(4), 214.

152 Ann Lib Sci Doc