University libraries, the world over, are continually striving to ensure timely information access and retrieval. Those at the centre of making this mission possible are the cataloguers. However, because of the nature of the work of cataloguers, very few librarians these days ever aspire to this role. What leads them to become a cataloguer is intriguing. This survey attempts to unravel the mystery about the personal characteristics of head cataloguers of Ghana’s state‐owned university libraries, their continuing professional development and use of information technologies.