Developing an Information Provision Strategy for University Libraries in Ghana

Team management and university libraries in Ghana: the influence of culture

“…The lack of literature on team working in Ghanaian university libraries paints a picture of a considerable lack of interest in the subject, and my own investigation showed no indication of any university library planning to adopt team work as part of its management practices (Badu, 1998).…”

“…Other factors that argue for a team approach in Ghanaian university libraries include recent changes in the internal environments of these libraries. Badu (1998) found that the age of staffing structures, the increase in student numbers which have placed new demands on their libraries' administrative and operational structures, and recent automation of most of the libraries, call for changes in their organisational structures. Thompson (1991) supports this view when he points out that university libraries in the UK have been subject to considerable change since the 1960s with rapid expansion and automation followed by a squeezing of book funds and the staffing budget.…”

SWOT analysis in the planning of information services and systems in university libraries

“…Other challenges include: inadequate communication; resource inadequacy; and little attention paid to staff, faculty and students users. Badu and Loughridge (1997) in their research in Ghana noted some of the following as challenges to strategic planning in university libraries: government's reluctance to fund higher education and increased expenditure in primary and secondary education; involvement of only professional librarians in the strategic planning; bureaucratic task type of organizational structure in libraries; libraries existed in a highly unstable economic environment; low levels of resource allocation to universities as a result of the poor relationship between government and universities; low level of computer technology replacement in the university libraries; and changes in government educational TBL 26,2 policies which had a significant impact on the rate of university growth and development. Comparatively, the problems identified by Badu and Loughridge are also common in many university libraries in Africa and Malawi to be specific.…”