Librarians must be abreast with electronic retrieval of information- Dr Darkwa

Winneba (C/R), April 11, GNA - Dr Osei Darkwa, Principal of the Ghana Telecom University College, has urged Librarians to be abreast with electronic retrieval of information to make the profession more relevant to today's Internet world. He said as students became more self-directed learners, Librarians ought to be trained in the use of the new technologies of electronic information retrieval so as to assist library users.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day seminar by the Committee of the University of Liberians and their Deputies (CULD) on Thursday in Winneba, Dr Darkwa said, there was the need to educate users on how to select which library catalogue would be appropriate to search for, using the Internet. Eighty participants from the public Universities and Polytechnics in the country are attending the seminar under the theme: "Access to Information". Dr Darkwa said that, the challenges posed by electronic libraries must be identified and appropriate solution be designed to overcome them. He proposed that, CULD and other African library organizations, get together to create a shared digital library of materials available online. "CULD should lobby tertiary institutions to contribute to the

creation of a library with a large stock of material available to students from member institutions," Dr Darkwa said. He added that, the general public could have access to such a wealth of information through membership and institutional subscriptions. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Professor Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw said everybody needed information and urged librarians to make good information accessible to the public. The chairperson of CULD, Mr Valentina J. A. Bannerman outlining the programme for the seminar announced that participants would looked new ways of acquiring and managing electronic resources and also consider a case for the collection of development policies in African University Libraries.