Revive regional chapters of Ghana Library Association — President

The President of the Ghana Library Association (GLA), Kodjo Asafo-Adjei Antwi, has called for a revival of the association’s regional branches to help strengthen its national structure and increase member participation.

 He said the association could not thrive on leadership alone, and that active followership was necessary to sustain professional development within the library and information sector.

Mr Antwi made the call at the 10th Presidential Inaugural Address of the GLA held at the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC) seminar room in Accra on May 30.

Reviving regional chapters

Delivering his inaugural address on the theme: “Leading Professional Associations: Leadership vs Followership”, Mr Antwi emphasised that revitalising the association at the regional level would be his main focus during his tenure.

“My vision is to revive the association at the regional level. Without active membership, an association cannot function.

We need members who are responsive and committed to the vision,” he said.

He explained that several regional branches of the association had become dormant due to apathy and the absence of member benefits.

“People feel there’s no value in joining because the association hasn’t met their needs in the past.

We must change that narrative and introduce measures to support our members, even with basic things like data for communication,” he said.
 

Tackling apathy

Mr Antwi said a major challenge facing the association was a lack of motivation for regional members to participate in meetings and activities.

“It’s not about money. It’s about support. If a regional chair needs to mobilise members, the association should provide a basic necessity like data.

These little things matter and make people feel appreciated,” he said.

 He called for a renewed membership drive, with a focus on offering value and incentives that make participation worthwhile.
 

Embracing technology

Touching on how the association is keeping libraries relevant in the digital age, Mr Antwi said that technology remained central to information access and delivery.

“Through systems such as the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), users can browse library collections from anywhere. Libraries now also offer electronic books and journals that can be accessed off-campus, which is a game-changer for students and researchers,” he said.

He described the innovation as a key strategy in bridging the digital divide and ensuring that libraries remained essential to young, tech-savvy users.
 

Partnerships and collaborations

Mr Antwi also indicated that the association is affiliated with international and regional library networks, through which members could attend conferences and training programmes to build capacity.

“There are also partnerships between individual libraries in Ghana and institutions abroad.

These collaborations are helping to improve service delivery and enhance the professional growth of our members,” he said.
 

Background

Established in 1963, the Ghana Library Association was initially part of the West African Library Association.

Its objective is to promote the welfare of library and information professionals and advance the sector through advocacy, networking, and capacity building.