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In 1993, all of the six polytechnic institutions in Ghana were elevated to the status of tertiary‐level institutions. This study is an assessment of the state of polytechnic libraries in relation to their new roles as libraries of tertiary institutions. It seeks to investigate the adequacy or otherwise of personnel, finance, materials, accommodation, equipment and services in these libraries. The writers conclude that these facilities are woefully inadequate and have to be improved in order to enhance the academic performance of the students and staff of the polytechnics.

Since 1996 an IFLA/DANIDA project has been underway to enhance interlending and document supply in Ghana. Through external funding the project aims to establish an electronic networking system, to train local librarians in the use of new technology and in ILDS systems generally; to develop relationships with major Western libraries. If the project is successful it is likely to be extended to other Third World countries. The project is being carried out against the background of traditional library problems in Africa, e.g. underfunding, poor telecommunications, lack of computing equipment, limited local expertise, inadequate staff numbers and poor training facilities. Through the project, promising progress is already being made.

This paper examines the current state of affairs in Ghana's three oldest university libraries. Based on observations and some research conducted, the article discusses a number of issues like stock, facilities and services available, administration and staffing. Other issues include hours of opening, funding and library accommodation/infrastructure. Problems (notably among them, finance) hindering the development and progress of these libraries have also been identified and discussed. Finally, recommendations on how the existing poor situation can be improved, which include the need for adequate funding, establishment of an academic library association and resource sharing, are offered.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting career choice, job satisfaction, and perceptions of the public image of librarians in Kuwait.

Data were gathered via questionnaires sent to 117 professional librarians working in academic, public, and special libraries in Kuwait.

The study identified factors which influenced the choice of career, sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Respondents reported that they were moderately satisfied with their current job. The results show that extrinsic measures, such as recognition of accomplishment, fair performance evaluation, and job security were ranked in the top and are the most important aspects of job satisfaction, whereas intrinsic measures, such as suitable daily working hours and nature of work, fell close to the bottom of the list. The cause of employee job dissatisfaction occurs in the area of benefits, contingent rewards, communication, salaries, working conditions, and promotions. Recommendations are made to improve the job satisfaction and the public image of librarianship in Kuwait.

The results of the study may provide useful information and practical advice for library managers, library education programs, and professional associations in Kuwait.

This paper is the only study on career choice, job satisfaction, and librarians' image in Kuwait. It is useful to increase the understanding and improve the career choice, job satisfaction, and librarians' image in Kuwait.

Argues that a sound library education is of paramount importance to the image and prestige of the library profession. Although in the past, a number of training programmes have been organised for librarians in Ghana, argues that present‐day job expectations require a new look at the training and education of the future librarian in Ghana. Various proposals are made in this vein.

One of the most significant recent developments for libraries has been the increasing availability of electronic versions of journals produced by the major publishers. Virtually instant online access to the full text of articles is engineering a fundamental rethink of how libraries provide information and services to their users: are libraries as physical entities still needed; can end‐users go it alone in searching for and retrieving documents they require; how can new and traditional services be effectively integrated, and so on. However, while technically many things are possible, the business models, the information delivery infrastructure, and the shifting relationships between the traditional players, are still in a state of flux and do not as yet provide a solid basis on which libraries can make confident decisions about the future. Explores the role of document supply services in the new paradigm and argues that, if they can seize the opportunity, they will have a vital though substantially different role to play.

Sets out to investigate the use of electronic resources by students and faculty of Ashesi University, Ghana, in order to determine the level of use, the type of information accessed and the effectiveness of the library's communication tools for information research.

A questionnaire‐based survey was utilized. It consisted of 16 questions to determine level of use, type of information accessed, assessment of library's communication tools, problems encountered when using electronic resources and ways to improve the provision of electronic information in the community. The questionnaire was distributed to all students, faculty and administrative staff in order to reduce the generalization of the results. The students were made up of four year groups categorized as YearGroupA, YearGroupB, YearGroupC, YearGroupD. The questionnaire was pre‐tested on six students from three different year groups and some amendments were made. A total of 169 questionnaires were therefore distributed and 141 completed questionnaires were returned, giving an overall response rate of 83 per cent. Survey responses were coded and input into Excel for analysis.

The study found that general computer usage for information access was high because of the University's state‐of‐the art IT infrastructure. Usage of some internet resources were also very high, whilst the use of scholarly databases was quite low. The low patronage was attributed to inadequate information about the existence of these library resources. The study recommends, among others, the introduction of information competency across the curriculum and/or the introduction of a one‐unit course to be taught at all levels and the provision of more PCs on campus.

Would be of value to library administrators considering how to determine level of use, type of information accessed, assessment of library's communication tools, problems encountered when using electronic resources and ways to improve the provision of electronic information.

The purpose of this paper is to survey and evaluate the management of public sector records in Ghana with a view to making constructive recommendations to ensure efficiency in public administration.

Published and unpublished works, in addition to institutional reports, acts and conference materials, were used for the survey and evaluation.

Public sector records management has been a very topical issue in Africa and Ghana. It has remained a very fundamental subject in Ghana since the institution of public sector reforms in the 1990s. Before the institution of the reform programme, critical records were inaccessible due to unstructured records systems in the ministries, departments and agencies and other government establishments. It was found out that the reform programme had brought on board immense capital injection into the records management sector which enabled an overhaul of the system. All registries in the public sector were restructured, a new legislative framework was put in place, a functional records centre was established, an omnibus retention schedule was developed and a number of records staff were trained and re-trained. It was however found out that Act 535, having been in operation for 17 years, the needed regulation to make it more operational has not yet been put in place. It is the hope that with adequate funding and structural support, the new system will be sustained to the benefit of efficiency and productivity of the Ghana public sector.

Being a descriptive survey, the research engaged in very little evaluation of the impact of the new system put in place on the levels of efficiency and productivity in the public sector. This should be the focus of further research to be carried out.

This paper has established the importance of how structures must be sustained and systems continuously re-tooled to accommodate changing trends in records management for good governance.

The paper is a descriptive survey of literature, manuals reports and some degree of personal observations. It is more of a situation paper and its value resides in the precedence and the evidential value of system intervention and re-tooling.

This paper seeks to report on an investigation of the implementation of a common library system for the Lesotho Library Consortium (LELICO). The outcome is to be a strategy for implementing the INNOPAC library system in LELICO.

The paper drew on a survey of LELICO member libraries and the experiences of selected consortia and libraries in the Southern African region. The level of automation, financial status, preferred system properties, and the modules required by LELICO member libraries were the main areas of investigation. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were sent to the 12 heads of the LELICO member libraries, and there were follow‐up interviews with five library heads. Relevant sources were consulted to provide additional information.

It was found that financial constraints influenced levels of computerisation in the majority of LELICO member libraries. It was also found that the required modules are: Acquisitions, Cataloguing, Circulations, Management Information, OPAC, and Serials. The system properties of Functionality, Usability, Support and Training, and Vendor were considered important for a common library system. The experiences of selected consortia and libraries in the Southern African region showed that the INNOPAC library system is the most suitable for LELICO.

The paper proposes a strategy for implementing the INNOPAC library system in LELICO, and makes recommendations for member libraries.

The findings may be useful to other small, multi‐type consortia considering the implementation of a common library system.