HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS: SAM JONAH LIBRARY IN FOCUS

The contribution of human capital to the survival of libraries cannot be underestimated, this necessitates their regular training and development for increased performance. The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which human capital development in the Sam Jonah Library improves performance of staff. The qualitative method was used, where interview was used to solicit information from senior management. Six out of the eight senior management members were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data from the interviews conducted. The findings of the study showed that though there were training programmes organized in the library and outside the library, they were not adequate for the number of staff who required training. It was also found out that some staff had training in other fields other than library related programmes. Further, there was no improvement in the performance of staff who received training especially those who undertook professional library studies. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, it is recommended among others that the library should regularly measure the performance of trained staff in order to identify gaps in their skills which will enable the library to design relevant training programmes to boost staff performance. The Library should also develop and document a training policy to be used as a guide to training so as to select programmes that will be constructive to all staff from all sections of the library

Funding memory institutions in Ghana: The case of Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD)

Information is the beacon of organizations globally. The need to properly manage information to serve as evidence of every activity to ensure accountability, transparency and probity is an essential but often ignored practice in most memory institutions worldwide and especially in Africa. Studies have shown that more focus is directed towards media, civil society, human rights and parliamentary democracy to the neglect of memory institutions when it comes to governance issues. Charged with the responsibility to ‘preserve Ghana’s collective memory by facilitating and overseeing the efficient management of records of all MDAs, PRAAD’s mandate has been limited as a result of the department been starved financially. Support to PRAAD over the years has basically come from donor agencies like IRMT, DFID, and IDA of the World Bank, Danish government, National Archives of Netherlands among others. Consequently, this paper explores ways through which PRAAD is funded and attempts to identify ways in which PRAAD can strengthen its funding capacity through nationwide advocacy, publicity and other grant seeking activities. The study was guided by the qualitative paradigm. The Director of PRAAD, together with the heads of all the three departments (records centre, preservation service branch (PSB) and the archives unit) were interviewed. A major finding was that lack of funding and logistics had undermined the role of PRAAD. The paper further emphasized on the need for government to intensify support for PRAAD to enable the department to effectively and competently perform its mandate for the development of Ghana through safeguarding the nation’s collective memory for informed decision making