Ghana Library Authority celebrates 70th Anniversary, Commits GH₵ 3 million to Library Fund

Ghana Library Authority has unveiled a Public Library Endowment Fund as a flagship initiative. It is part of its 70th Anniversary Celebration to support the growth and development of public libraries in Ghana.

This was made known at the launch of the 70th Anniversary in Accra. The Board Chairperson of the Ghana Library Authority Governing Board, Dr Helena Asamoah-Hassan gave the rationale behind the endowment fund. She  said, “Government alone cannot sufficiently provide all the needs for the smooth operation of public library services in the country. We are mobilizing philanthropic capital to support the growth and sustainability of the Public Library System in Ghana.”

“A strong public library system is built over time. It grows and evolves over decades and even centuries. That is why the Ghana Library Authority is establishing this endowment fund. It will create a lasting impact on the public library system in the country.”

She further indicated that the Governing Board and Management have set a target to raise a seed fund of GH₵ 10 million. According to him, it will be invested in safe instruments to support the development and operations of public library service.

The special guest of honour was  the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh. In his address, he stated, “I am pleased to announce that Government, through the Ministry of Education, is supporting the Endowment Fund with seed money of GHS 3 million. This is a gesture of our commitment to our public library service.  Public library is a major player in our drive to promote reading and literacy and ultimately improve learning outcomes.”

PERFORMING AGENCY

“As the best performing agency under the Ministry of Education, I wouldn’t hesitate to support the Library,” he added.

The Minister also shared with the gathering about some achievements of the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Library Authority. Specifically, he pointed, in less than four years, digitization, Innovation and Technology as achievements.

“Today, GhLA is the only public library in West Africa to develop and run a digital branch of its services. During COVID-19, government supported GhLA to expand its infrastructure into hosting video tutorials being shown on the Ghana Learning TV.”

The Executive Director of the Ghana Library Authority, Mr Hayford Siaw, expressed his gratitude to the President of Ghana and the Minister of Education for their support to the public libraries since 2017.

He indicated that aside from Unveiling of the Public Library Endowment Fund and the commissioning of the Accra Central Library conference facility, the Authority would commission a new library in honour of its first Ghanaian Board Chairman, Mr Edward Akufo-Addo.