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LM
39,6/7 Professional development in
private university libraries
in Ghana
488 Patience Emefa Dzandza
Department of Information Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, and
Received 8 June 2017
Revised 2 November 2017 Harry Akussah
Accepted 10 April 2018 Department of Information Studies,
University of Ghana School of Information and Communication Studies,
Legon, Ghana
Abstract
Purpose – There has been a significant change in the provision of library services due to the application of
technology to every aspect of library services. This has posed a major challenge to library staff as they need
to be abreast with current technologies and their application to library services. One means by which a
librarian can overcome this challenge is through professional development (PD) programs. The purpose of
this paper is to determine PD opportunities in private university libraries in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey of 61 staff and interviews with 20 heads of
libraries was conducted to collect data from 25 private universities in Ghana.
Findings – The study revealed that not all library staff in the private universities were allowed to attend PD
programs. None of the private universities studied had a policy on PD and only three institutions made
budgetary allocation to PD programs. Majority of the private universities did not have in-house PD programs
and there were no means of knowledge sharing in most of the libraries studied.
Originality/value – In this paper, the researchers identified the major challenges encountered by library
staff in private universities in Ghana and propose that librarians should see PD as a part of their own
responsibility while, libraries should have a PD policy and make budgetary allocation toward PD.
Keywords Ghana, Training needs, Private universities, Professional development, Academic libraries,
Staff development
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Professional development (PD) to the researchers is any activity undertaken by an individual
or an organization to further acquire knowledge which is expected to enhance an individual’s
ability to perform professional duties. Pan and Hovde (2010) indicated that PD is a lifetime
learning process, which is both universal and individualized. It is a universal requirement of
all professionals especially librarians in order to keep up with the rapid changes in the library
field and to maintain professionalism. At the same time, it is an individualized experience that
varies with the needs of specific duties as well as resources available around one’s working,
social and academic environment. PD for academic librarians to Pan and Hovde (2010) fulfills
a need for the continuing acquisition of knowledge and competencies.
In Ghana, the need for continuing education programs for library and information
personnel in educational institutions is very much recognized. Continuing education for
library and information personnel in educational institutions in Ghana is desired to ensure
and maintain standards and competence at the work place. Without continuing education,
occupational obsolescence inevitably becomes a real concern in university libraries. In order
Library Management to meet the challenges posed by the changing academic environment, it is important for
Vol. 39 No. 6/7, 2018
pp. 488-502 library staff to consider continuing education as a lifelong responsibility and a gateway to
© Emerald Publishing Limited advancement (Asiagodo, 1995). Moorefield-Lang (2017) also noted that staying up-to-date in
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-06-2017-0055 the field of librarianship is very vital.
Private universities in Ghana PD in private
Private universities have sprung up quickly in Ghana. The process started in 1993 when a university
structure for accrediting private universities was put in place. In 1999, there were two such libraries
universities. By 2009, the number had risen to 11. In addition, 19 private polytechnics or
colleges had also been established (Adu, 2009). As at the time of conducting this research, in Ghana
a total of 48 private universities had been accredited in Ghana (www.nab.gov.gh).
In 2006, private universities together enrolled 9,500 students or about 8 percent of all 489
tertiary students, while the polytechnics had enrolled 24,660 students constituting
20 percent of the total national enrollment (Adu, 2009). The growth of private tertiary
institutions in Ghana is not unique. Similar developments have taken place in other
West African countries, such as Nigeria, Republic of Benin and Senegal, as well as in the
East African countries of Tanzania and Uganda and Kenya (Adu, 2009).
There are several reasons for this rapid growth in private higher education. First,
Ghana’s education sector has been deregulated following a general trend of deregulation in
Africa in the wake of a wave of democratization. In the 2007 Ghana Education Reform
exercise, a goal was set to increase private sector participation in education services. Policies
such as tax exemptions on imported books were put in place to attract private participation
(Adu, 2009). Atuahene (2014) also indicated that due to transformative policy reforms
Tertiary education in Ghana has seen rapid advancement.
Second, the massive growth in private institutions is a result of the increasing demand
for higher education. Between 1999 and 2006, student numbers doubled from about 59,000
to more than 118,000. But public universities were not able to meet the growing demand.
In the case of University of Ghana (a public university), for example, 22,865 students
applied for admissions in 2008 but just over a third, 8,774 students, were admitted.
This phenomenon pushes students who do not gain admission to any of the public
universities to apply and enroll at any private university in the country (Adu, 2009).
This factor was also indicated by Morley et al. (2009) when they wrote that there is a
capacity challenge in universities in Ghana.
Finally, funding of public higher education has declined substantially since the
optimistic post-independence years when Ghana’s first universities were founded – the
University of Ghana in 1948 and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in
1952 (Adu, 2009).
The astronomical increase in enrollment to universities in Ghana calls for well-resourced
libraries and trained library professionals whose capabilities need to be enhanced through PD
programs to meet the information needs of this growing user population in the universities.
Statement of the problem
It has been stated that the librarian’s training is out-of-date on the day of graduation
(Richard, 1976, cited in Alemna, 1998). The rapid rate of development, both within and
outside the library profession, continues to make it difficult, if not impossible, for a librarian
to rely on basic training for any appreciable length of time during professional career.
Such factors as the impact of new technology, “information explosion” and new policies and
methods for organizations and provision of information have made it absolutely essential
for librarians to engage actively in continuing education programs if they are to remain
professionally up-to-date. More importantly, if they are to provide services that meet the
challenges imposed on them by these new developments, they need to be abreast with
current technological applications in libraries.
The form of library education received in Ghana is broad-based and this does not equip
librarians with pertinent skills to survive in the rapidly changing environment. The lack of
commitment by individuals and organizations to PD is not helpful to the library profession
in Ghana.
LM Private universities are quickly springing up in Ghana and financial difficulties as well
39,6/7 as bad management practices in some of these universities do not motivate them to provide
PD opportunities for their staff. It is for these reasons that the researchers sought to
examine the PD avenues available to library staff in private universities in Ghana and how
they utilize them since the initial training received in library schools may not take them
through their entire professional lives successfully.
490
Objectives
The broad objective of the study was to generally examine PD practices in private
university libraries in Ghana. Specifically the study sought to as follows:
(1) find out the forms of PD opportunities available to staff;
(2) assess the developmental needs of staff;
(3) determine the categories of staff who benefit from PD;
(4) examine the forms of PD programs;
(5) determine the inhibitions to PD;
(6) determine the type of knowledge gained from PD programs; and
(7) determine both the personal and institutional budgetary allocation made for
staff development.
Literature review
According to Browell (2000), training and development strategy ought to be derived from
the organizational and human resource strategy with human resource development
programs helping to ensure that the organization has the people with the skills and
knowledge required in order to achieve its strategic objectives. Browell (2000) further
intimated that corporate learning and development can certainly aid competitive advantage
and are seen as essential in times of change. He continued by asserting that by focusing on
individual and organizational development, it ensures that learning processes contribute to
the achievement of strategic objectives and that there is continuous growth and
development for individuals and the organization.
Adams (2009) writing on “Library staff development at the University of Auckland
Library” reported that, the University of Auckland Library introduced the first staff
development library position in New Zealand in 1994. The university also had a strong
culture of staff development with a number of groups providing development opportunities
across the university. These included the Center for Academic Development and the
Staff and Organizational Development Unit. In addition, the library had over the years
created many courses to train staff.
Shaw and Godbolt (2008) intimated that, opportunities for PD for African librarians
were limited, and that it had become necessary to ensure that what was made available
was what was wanted by the professionals. The problem is determining what new
skills, resulting from technical change, are emerging as necessities, and then assessing
their relevance to other situations in an African context as opportunities for in-house PD.
A research by Ukwoma and Akanwa (2008) revealed inadequate funding, personal
financial constraints, lack of facilities to train with as major problems that affected
training and development of librarians and para-professionals in some Nigerian Academic
Libraries. Mapulanga (2014) also noted that budget for the library staff development
in the University of Malawi is very low and this has affected the capacity development
of staff.
Alemna (1998) writing on education and training of the future librarian in Ghana, PD in private
asserted that, the speed with which social, economic and technological change was forcing university
corporate bodies to become “learning organizations” could not spare librarians and libraries
information scientists the burden of adapting to changes. This, he indicated, demanded new
kinds of competences and approaches in retrieving and disseminating information, in in Ghana
designing systems and in making decisions, and in relating with information users and
fellow librarians. Alemna (1998) further stressed the fact that the education and training of 491
the future librarians in Ghana must be based on the assumption that librarians and
information scientists were going to assume new responsibilities which did not fall into the
conventional, and increasingly historical preview of their job. This also meant that both
short- and long-term training programs had to be developed based on actual and potentially
assessed needed skills. In Qatar, Johnston and Williams (2015) assessed future training
needs of library staff. Their study revealed that Qatar library staff need training
in cataloging including RDA, electronic resources management, information literacy and
copyright issues.
Owusu-Acheaw (2007) conducted a research on “staff development and employee
welfare practices and their effect on productivity in three special libraries in Ghana.”
The study examined whether staff development policies existed in the three special
libraries, and whether training programs were offered to increase staff competence,
efficiencies and performance. It was also aimed at assessing staff welfare practices and
how these affected productivity and performance. In Owusu-Acheaw’s (2007) study,
management and staff of the three institutions indicated that they had PD policies in place
with budgetary provision. In addition, all of them agreed that training opportunities were
available to staff. The opportunities they indicated were study leave with pay, study
leave without pay and in a few instances scholarships were awarded to staff. There
were also training programs organized for their staff in-house which included
participation in workshops, seminars and conferences. Thus, management of the three
institutions had put in place training programs for staff to upgrade their knowledge, skills
and competences.
The review of the literature indicated that a number of studies have been done in Ghana
on PD of library staff in public university libraries and special libraries but none on private
university library staff, it is this gap in the literature that this study sought to fill by
investigating PD of library staff in private university libraries in Ghana
Methodology
A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted to prosecute the
research. In total, 25 private university libraries were selected for the purpose of this
study. The researchers used private university libraries in Ghana which had their
accreditation before 2015. This is to ensure that the libraries selected have library staff
who have worked for about two years and could have engaged in some sort of PD in order
to provide relevant responses. The total number of libraries which were accredited before
2015 were 48, these 48 libraries were, therefore, identified as population from which
sample was selected (www.nab.gov.gh/). The researchers used 50 percent of the total
population giving 24 institutions. To select the 24 institutions, the country (Ghana) was
divided into three zones (strata) based on the geographical location of the ten regions to
give equal representation of private universities across the country – Ghana. Zone one (1)
which is the coastal belt is called the Southern Zone which consists of the Greater Accra
Region, Volta Region, Western Region and the Central Region. Zone two (2) (the forest
belt) is called the Middle Zone which consists of Brong Ahafo Region, Ashanti Region and
Eastern Region. Zone three (3) the savannah belt is called the Northern Zone and consists
of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions.
LM To select 50 percent of the private universities from the three zones, the following
39,6/7 formula was used:
¼ ZNPS  24
TN
where PS is proportionate sample; ZN is total number of private universities in a zone; TN is
492 total number of private universities in Ghana and 24 is 50 percent of the total 48 private
universities in Ghana.
Table I indicates the number of private universities in a zone by regions.
Sample size for the Southern Zone:
33
PS ¼  24 ¼ 17
48
Sample size for the Middle Zone:
14
PS ¼  24 ¼ 7
48
Sample size for the Northern Zone:
1
PS ¼  24 ¼ 0
48
From the Southern Zone and Middle Zone 17 and 7 private universities, respectively, were
purposefully selected based on the criteria that the institutions have qualified professional
librarians and para-professional librarians who will be the best people to provide the data
needed for this study since they are the subject for this study and are professionals who
need to gain PD opportunities. Though the Northern Zone recorded zero (0) by the
proportionate sampling method, the only private university in the Northern Zone was
purposefully added to be the representation of the Northern Zone to enhance proportionate
representation of all private universities in Ghana. Therefore, making the total number of
institutions selected to be 25.
The 25 private universities purposefully selected had a total staff population of
92 professionals and para-professionals and were all used as respondents. Professional
librarians for the purpose of this study were library staff who held postgraduate degrees in
library studies or information studies and other relevant graduate professional
qualifications and para-professionals were library staff who held certificate, diploma or
first degrees in library studies or information studies.
Zone Region Number of universities Total no. of universities in the zone
Southern Zone Greater Accra 30 33
Volta 1
Western 0
Central 2
Middle Zone Brong Ahalfo 2 14
Ashanti 5
Easten 7
Table I. Northern Upper East 0 1
Number of private Upper West 0
universities Northern 1
Findings and discussions PD in private
Background information of respondents university
With regards to qualification, 16 (26.2 percent) of the respondents were diploma holders, libraries
15 (24.6 percent) were the first degree holders, 3 (4.9 percent) had postgraduate diploma,
20 (32.8 percent) had MA/MSc and 4 (6.4 percent) had MPhil. Three of the respondents in Ghana
representing 4.9 percent did not respond to this question. Majority of the respondents had
worked for more than a year in their current organizations. A total of 47 of the respondents 493
representing 77 percent had been with the same institution between one and ten years.
Knowledge from library school
The researchers wanted to determine how well knowledge acquired from library school had
helped in the job performance of respondents on a scale from 1 to 5; 1being the lowest and
5 being the highest score. The results showed that, 11 (18 percent) respondents rated it at 3,
24 (39.3 percent) rated it at 4 and 23 (37.7 percent) rated it at 5. Three respondents, however,
did not respond to this question, as shown in the Table II. The study revealed that
respondents appreciate knowledge gained in library schools.
Necessity of PD programs
The researchers asked respondents to rate how necessary they thought PD programs
were on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. The results from the
rating revealed that, over 90 percent of the respondents rated the necessity of PD
programs above average with 62.3 percent giving it the highest score, as shown in
Table III. This, no doubt, is an indication that library professionals see the need for PD
programs. This finding seems to agree with that of Browell (2000) who stated that PD is
necessary as it ensures that learning processes contribute to the achievement of strategic
objectives and that there is continuous growth and development for individuals and the
organization. Some of the respondents also indicated that PD programs are avenues for
knowledge sharing among professionals.
Scale Frequency Percentage
1 0 0
2 0 0
3 11 18.0
4 24 39.3 Table II.
5 23 37.7 Knowledge gained
N/A 3 4.9 in school and
Total 61 100 job performance
Scale Frequency Percentage
1 0 0
2 1 1.6
3 3 4.9
4 17 27.9 Table III.
5 38 62.3 Necessity of
N/A 2 3.3 professional
Total 61 100 development
Note: n¼ 61 programs
LM Willingness to attend PD programs
39,6/7 To determine whether or not respondents had been willing to participate in PD programs,
the researchers asked them to indicate this. Findings revealed that, over 90 percent of the
respondents indicated they had been willing to attend or participate in PD programs. This is
an indication of the awareness of the benefits to be derived from PD programs, hence their
willingness to take advantage of them. This position was buttressed with the fact that the
494 findings indicate that about 50 percent of respondents had personally requested to attend
PD programs. Thus, personal initiatives toward PD can be rated above average.
The researchers went further to find out the number of occasions staff had attended PD
programs. It was revealed that 15 of the respondents representing 24.6 percent have not
been to any PD program apart from library school qualification. In total, 32 of
them representing 52.5 percent had been to PD programs on 1 to 5 occasions, 5 of them
representing 8.2 percent had been to PD programs on 6 to 10 occasions, 8 (13.1 percent)
respondents had been to PD programs on more than 10 occasions, while 1 (1.6 percent) did
not respond to this question.
The research revealed that, it was not all the respondents who made personal request to
attend PD programs who were allowed or were able to attend. This was because their
institutions either chose some other staff to represent them at the PD programs or finances
were not made available. This may probably stifle the initiative of the staff as they may not
be willing to put in such requests again. This finding is contrary to a study at the University
of Science and Technology (UST) library, Ghana as far back as 1996, Osei (1996) found that
the management of the UST library encouraged and sought funding for professional staff
who were keen on participating actively in professional activities such as workshops,
seminars, congresses and conferences organized by the Ghana Library Association (GLA).
For private university libraries in Ghana not to be committed to PD in the twenty-first
century may not be helpful to the library profession.
Personal budget
The researchers sought to know the level of financial commitment of individuals to PD. In this
direction, respondents were asked to indicate whether they made personal budgetary allocations
toward PD. The study found out that some staff made personal budgetary allocations toward
PD. Majority did not because they thought even if they made budgetary provisions, they would
not be allowed to attend if it was not their institutions which were sponsoring and sending them
to attend. Some also said their salaries were not enough to enable them make such provisions.
Those who budgeted for PD used it for conference, seminar, workshop and tuition fees.
Shaw and Godbolt (2008) reported that opportunities for in-house, continuing PD was
limited for most African librarians. This is the case in private universities in Ghana as well.
Library staff need to take personal responsibility for their own PD. They need to make
personal budgetary provision for their PD programs and must make time from their annual
leave in order to participate in such programs. Looking at the current situation in private
university libraries, if library staff do not take some form of responsibility for their PD, some
of them may not get the opportunity from their employers to develop professionally.
PD policy
Oldroyd (1995) stated that, it is vital a policy on PD be established and publicized in every
institution so that all staff know what it is and the policy should state the purpose of
training and staff development, who it supports and to what ends. This is not the case of
private university libraries in Ghana. None of the institutions studied had a policy on PD.
This was the same situation in the public universities in Ghana as revealed by
Adanu’s (2007) study which revealed that, public universities in Ghana did not have written
policies on PD. Contrary to these findings, Owusu-Acheaw’s (2007) study of three special PD in private
libraries in Ghana showed that the three special libraries had staff development policies. university
In order to harness maximum benefit from any activity, that activity needs to be planned libraries
for. If private universities want to have effective and efficient PD systems, they must plan
for them. They must develop policies which should outline the overall objectives of the PD in Ghana
project, the category of staff the PD program will cover and the person responsible for
PD programs. The policy should also make provision for needs assessment. 495
If such policies are in place, they will serve as guidelines to direct and coordinate
all PD programs in organizations. Without them, there might only be haphazard
systems of sending staff to PD as and when such programs are available and as and
when the institutions want. In the absence of policies, the situation in private university
libraries in Ghana leaves the decision to send staff on PD programs at the discretion
of management.
In such a situation, the libraries will be lagging behind as their staff will not be
professionally current enough in their field of endeavor. Staff may get demoralized as
opportunities are not clearly created and known to them for PD. This may affect their
productivity and their knowledge levels. If library staff, in private universities, are not
professionally developed, it can have adverse effects on the entire library professional body
in Ghana as they may not be abreast of current trends in the profession and this may affect
their international standing as a professional association.
Institutional budget
Interviews conducted with head librarians on the issue of whether they make annual
budgetary provision toward PD as libraries showed that, only three institutions made
budgetary allocation specifically toward PD programs. Majority, however, indicated that no
specific amount was allocated but money was provided by their universities as and when
there was a PD program. This however depended on the availability of funds. Some heads
were not even aware whether or not such money was available. This finding paints a
different picture as against what Adams (2009) wrote of the University of Auckland Library
that the library has a strong culture of staff development and, therefore, staff development
is budgeted for. And Mbofung (2015), findings from some Nigerian University Libraries
which indicated that most of the libraries had staff development budget and respondents
received various forms of assistance to foster learning.
Not making a budget means that heads were not aware of how much was available for PD.
PD requests could be easily turned down by the management of the universities with the
excuse of “no money.” But if this is clearly stated, library heads can easily plan as to the types
of PD programs their staff will attend within a given time frame/period.
Types of PD
The study was able to determine the different PD opportunities available to staff, as shown
in Table IV. From the table, 75.4 percent of the responsdents are entitled to different PD
programs outside their institutions including serminars, workshops, conferences and
classroom tuition. But it was very sad to note that 24.6 percent of respondents are not
entitled to any form of PD.
The research also sought to find out the forms of PD programs that were available
to library staff internally in their work places. Responses provided revealed that 20
(32.8 percent) of the respondents indicated there were in-house PD programs in their
organization and 41 indicated there were no such programs.
Out of the 20 respondents who indicated that there were in-house training programs,
14 were of the view that these programs were in the form of workshops for library staff and
LM
39,6/7 Program Frequency Percentage
Seminar 1 1.6
Workshop 9 14.8
Classroom tuition (Dip, Degree, MA, MPhil, PhD) 8 13.1
Seminar and workshop 7 11.5
Conference and workshop 3 4.9
496 Workshop and classroom tuition 2 3.3
Seminar, conference and workshop 10 16.4
Conference, workshop and classroom tuition 1 1.6
Table IV. Seminar, workshop and classroom tuition 1 1.6
Professional All 4 6.6
development None 15 24.6
opportunity Total 61 100
3 of these respondents said these PD programs were in the form of seminars and workshops.
In total, 3 out of the 20 respondents did not indicate the form which these programs took.
It means that there were opportunities for seminars, conferences, workshops and study
leave to embark on classroom tuition programs. However, a combination of seminar,
conference and workshop attendance ranked high. This finding is similar to that of
Ukwoma and Akanwa (2008) which deduced that academic libraries in Imo State of Nigeria
organize; job rotation, orientation, workshops, seminars, conferences and in-service training
as PD programs for their staff.
A cross-tabulation was done to compare the number of times a respondent has been to
PD programs and the respondents staff level. The results (Table V ) show that 15
(24.6 percent) who have not been to any PD are all library assistants. The limited availability
of these programs, occasionally to only a selected few in institutions is not the best for the
entire libraries and individuals. A more structured plan needs to be put in place by these
institutions which will be of benefit to all members.
Knowledge gained from PD programs
The respondents were asked to indicate the type of knowledge they obtained from PD
programs. Out of the 45 respondents who indicated that they had been to PD programs, 29
indicated that they had acquired knowledge on traditional library skills, 40 indicated that
they had acquired knowledge in the field of ICT, 22 indicated that they had acquired
knowledge on how to market their libraries and 16 indicated that they had acquired
knowledge on how to write papers for publication. These areas as indicated by the
respondents conform to the categories outlined by Alemna (1998) and Johnston and
Williams (2015) as future training needs of librarians in Ghana and Qatar, respectively.
Job positions
Number of occasions to professional Library Senior library Assistant Deputy
development programs N/A assistant assistant librarian librarian Librarian Total
Table V. 0 – 15 – – – – 15
Number of occasions 1-5 – 8 9 14 1 – 32
to professional 6-10 – – – – 4 1 5
development W10 – – – – – 8 8
programs and N/A 1 1
job position Total 1 23 9 14 5 9 61
Impact of PD programs on job performance PD in private
For the researchers to determine the impact of PD programs on job performance, the university
respondents who had benefited from PD programs were asked to indicate the impact levels libraries
on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. The results were revealing.
In total, 5 respondents rated it at 3, 23 respondents rated it 4 and 17 respondents rated it 5. in Ghana
This is shown in Table VI.
Eight heads of private universities in an interview also indicated that PD programs 497
enhanced the knowledge of their staff in new areas. Five of the heads indicated that they
performed better, leading to quality service delivery. Four other Heads indicated that their
staff had not had the opportunity to attend any PD programs and, therefore, could not
assess them. Three of the heads indicated that PD programs only helped the person who
attended the program and not the entire staff since there were no avenues through which
knowledge was shared with other staff. This is affirmed by Oke and Oguntuase (2010)
who stated that training and development of library staff in any academic library
contributes significantly to their productivity as the training they receive motivates and
equips them.
Means of sharing knowledge
Knowledge gained from PD programs ought to be shared with other members of the
organization in order to enhance productivity in the organization as a whole and to increase
the knowledge base of every individual in the organization. For this reason, the researchers
asked if there were established means by which such knowledge was shared.
Head librarians were asked to indicate how knowledge gained from PD programs was
shared in their organizations. Six of them indicated that there were no avenues for sharing
such knowledge, four of them said the knowledge was personally kept to the person who
attended such programs, six indicated that seminars and workshops were organized for
such knowledge to be shared for the benefit of other staff, one head indicated that training
sessions were organized to train the other staff members on what had been learnt. One the
other head indicated that, one-on-one tuition sessions were organized for the other library
staff since there were only four people on staff. This can be situated in the literature of
Teng and Al-Hawamdeh (2002) when they wrote that although the library world claims the
ownership of knowledge management, they do not practice it as is done in the business
sector. They further indicated that knowledge sharing in non-profit organization will help
improve communication and sharing of organization culture.
Though some of the private universities in Ghana used seminars and workshops as
means of sharing knowledge, others used one-on-one tuition and some did not share at all.
This does not help with the current situation in which not all staff members are given the
opportunity to attend PD programs. At least, in-house measures should be put in place to
enable those who do not get the chance to attend, gain some knowledge of what was taught
at such programs.
Scale Frequency
1 0
2 0
3 5 Table VI.
4 23 Impact of professional
5 17 development
Total 45 programs on
Note: n¼ 45 job performance
LM Problems encountered at PD programs
39,6/7 Concerns were raised about the problems encountered on PD programs. Among these were
finance, accommodation, transportation, permission from work, difficulty in implementing
new ideas and recall from leave. In all, financial problem featured most prominently. This
confirms Alemna’s (2001) finding that finance to sponsor librarians for continuous
education programs was a major problem in most libraries in Ghana. The frequency
498 distribution of responses is shown in Table VII.
Future training need
In order for the researchers to determine the specific areas in which respondents require
further training, the respondents were given the opportunity to indicate their training needs.
Per the responses received all the respondents indicated more than one area in which
they require training. Tables VIII and IX are a summary of the training needs as indicated
by the respondents categorized by the researchers as ICT and traditional library practices
training needs.
The major areas of training indicated by library staff of private universities as their
training needs in traditional library practices were; classification, cataloging (RDA), reader
Problem Frequency
Finance 26
Accommodation 7
Transportation 8
Table VII. Permission from supervisor 6
Problems encountered Implementation of action 1
on professional Recall from leave 1
development None 6
programs Note: There were multiple responses to this question
ICT training need Frequency
Spreadsheet 4
Database management 29
PowerPoint Presentation 9
Library software 37
E-resource 11
None 1
Table VIII. N/A 8
ICT training need Note: There were multiple responses to this question
Traditional library practices Frequency
Classification 19
Cataloging 17
Table IX. Reader services 13
Traditional Information literacy 3
library practices None 6
training needs Note: There were multiple responses to this question
services and information literacy. In the area of ICT, database management, use of Library PD in private
Management Software and the use of electronic resources were the most highly stated university
needs. Other areas of training needs indicated by the library staff were: human resource libraries
management, publishing of papers and marketing of library services. This finding is similar
to the suggestion made by Alemna (1998) and Johnston and Williams (2015) as the future in Ghana
training needs of Ghanaian and Qatar librarians, respectively, it therefore shows that the
future is here for the Ghanaian librarian to be trained. 499
The researchers compared the staff level of the respondents to the specific training needs
they indicated. The results, as shown in Tables X and XI, indicate that all staff at the
different levels in private university libraries have need in different computer applications
used in libraries. In relation to traditional library practices, the study revealed that it is only
library assistants and senior library assistants who indicated they had training needs with
only one assistant librarian indicating need for training in information literacy.
Conclusion
PD is a very essential factor in the development of an individual who is practicing a
profession and this enhances the professionalism of the entire professional body to which
the individual belongs. As individuals develop their professional credentials through
knowledge acquisition, they build a common pool of knowledge for the professional body to
which they belong.
In this study, it has been revealed that library professionals in private universities in Ghana
see PD programs as a necessary factor in their profession. Despite this recognition, not all
library staff in the private universities studied were allowed to attend PD programs organized
outside their institutions, majority of private university libraries in Ghana did not make
budgetary provision toward PD and none of the private universities studied had a policy on PD.
The effort by private university libraries in Ghana toward PD as revealed by this study
is not the best as private universities are increasing in number at a fast rate and are
becoming a major contributor in the provision of tertiary education in Ghana. For them to
ensure positive contribution to the human resource development of Ghana, their information
providers must be well trained to enhance the provision of the right information to students
and faculty at the right time. This calls for a better PD plan for their library staff.
Job positions
Library Senior library Assistant Deputy
Areas of training in ICT assistant assistant librarian librarian Librarian Total
Spreadsheet 2 1 1 4
Database management 12 5 3 4 5 29
PowerPoint Presentation 3 6 9 Table X.
Library software 20 5 6 3 3 37 ICT training needs
E-resource 5 2 1 1 1 11 and Job positions
Job positions
Areas of training in traditional Library Senior library Assistant Deputy
library practices assistant assistant librarian librarian Librarian Total
Table XI.
Classification 10 9 – – 19 Traditional library
Cataloging 8 9 – – – 17 practices training
Reader services 10 3 13 needs and
Information literacy – 2 1 3 job positions
LM Recommendations
39,6/7 Based on the findings from the study, the researchers made the following recommendations
to enhance the PD practices in private universities in Ghana.
Library staff in private universities should see their PD as part of their own
responsibility. They should not depend solely on their employers to help them develop
professionally. Library staff in private universities should endeavor to make personal
500 budgetary provision for their PD programs. This will help position them financially to
attend PD programs in case their employers do not give them the necessary financial
support to attend such programs.
Library staff in private universities should plan their annual leave times to coincide with
PD programs. This will help them make time to participate as some of them do not easily get
time off their jobs to participate.
Library staff in private universities should register and join the GLA. This will help
enhance their professional status and will enable them to benefit from the PD programs
organized by the association.
Libraries of private universities and their mother institutions should endeavor to put PD
policies in place. This will serve as guidelines to direct and coordinate all PD activities in
their organizations. Without them, there might only be haphazard systems of sending staff
for PD as and when such programs are available.
Private university libraries should make annual budgetary allocation for PD programs.
With a budget in place, librarians can easily plan on the types of PD programs their staff
will attend and this will also push them to either organize one in-house or send their staff to
externally organized ones and will also aid in accountability.
Private university libraries should develop systems that will help knowledge gained
from PD programs to be shared among all library staff. This will help in enhancing the
knowledge level of all staff and will better promote efficient performance. Staff, who attend
PD programs, will also take issues discussed seriously as they are aware that they will be
required to share issues discussed with their colleagues.
Private university libraries which are not part of the Consortium of Academic and
Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) should register and join as this association
organizes free training programs as part of its initiative to enhance librarianship in Ghana.
Library schools especially the library school in Ghana should update their curriculum to
cover current trends in the areas of electronic cataloging, use of electronic resources,
publishing and the use of general library management software. There is an urgent need for
them to frequently undertake needs assessment of library professionals and library service
provision in order to design a curriculum that will always be up-to-date to meet current
assessed needs and not perceived needs. Library schools should also provide extensive
practical opportunity to help with hands on experience to give a firm foundation for future
library professionals. Library Schools should also be actively engaged in continuous
education programs to provide short courses for library professionals to keep them abreast
with current trends.
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Corresponding author
Patience Emefa Dzandza can be contacted at: pedzandza@ug.edu.gh
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