RIP Legon Bookshop: An obituary for a beloved Ghanaian institution that lost its way

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Legon Bookshop 5 days ago

Is this festure on Legon Bookshop a fiction or a reality.

Is this festure on Legon Bookshop a fiction or a reality.
Decay of the nation Ghana 5 days ago

A reality... was there recently and was shocked that it has become Melcom in disguise

A reality... was there recently and was shocked that it has become Melcom in disguise
IT IS NOT A SURPRISE AT ALL. THE UNIVERSITIES PREFER TO SELL THE RIGHT TO OPERATE A UNIVERSITY BOOKSHOP TO A STATIONERY SHOP. SADLY IT IS THE SAME AT KNUST AND CAPE COAST UNIVERSITY 4 days ago

A University bookshop is supposed to be a place you can find all manner of books for academic work. But not in Ghana. All it takes is to dish out some money to people at the top, and boom, you have the right to operate the Un ...
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A University bookshop is supposed to be a place you can find all manner of books for academic work. But not in Ghana. All it takes is to dish out some money to people at the top, and boom, you have the right to operate the University Bookshop as a stationery shop rather than serving as a place to feed the intellectual hunger of both students and lecturers.

Shame onto you University of Ghana
Shame unto you KNUST
Shame unto you Cape Coast University
Maxwell 5 days ago

Hmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmm,
KK (Hmmm) 5 days ago

This article right here right now is the most sensible opinion piece that ever appeared on Ghanaweb. Thanks for the observation on Legon Bookshop.

This article right here right now is the most sensible opinion piece that ever appeared on Ghanaweb. Thanks for the observation on Legon Bookshop.
Phs 5 days ago

For us any work boys in the early 90s it was eference point us to do research. Since we could not afford the books .a place to meet intellectual minds.as the saying goes those you meet in the bar are different from those yo ...
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For us any work boys in the early 90s it was eference point us to do research. Since we could not afford the books .a place to meet intellectual minds.as the saying goes those you meet in the bar are different from those you meet in the classroom
Boston_Finnest 5 days ago

It was a place to socialize and even meet girls. Those who grew up in the 90s know.

It was a place to socialize and even meet girls. Those who grew up in the 90s know.
Akwasi Ossei Nkrumah 5 days ago

Thank you Yoofi for this tribute to a dying legend.
The last book I purchased from the Legion Bookshop, was a treatise on religious sects by Prof. Max Assimeng titled Saints and Social Structures.

Thank you Yoofi for this tribute to a dying legend.
The last book I purchased from the Legion Bookshop, was a treatise on religious sects by Prof. Max Assimeng titled Saints and Social Structures.
Okponglo Guy 5 days ago

The great Assimeng, the man from the "age of numerophilia and quantophrenia".

The great Assimeng, the man from the "age of numerophilia and quantophrenia".
Okponglo Guy 5 days ago

This is an institution that must be saved. Thanks for sounding the alarm.

This is an institution that must be saved. Thanks for sounding the alarm.

GhMan 5 days ago

Oh, Legon Bookshop? I have been away from the country for quite a while and now that I am back home, I intend to go on a 'pilgrimage' to the bookshop. Now I am totally discouraged by this piece of news.

Oh, Legon Bookshop? I have been away from the country for quite a while and now that I am back home, I intend to go on a 'pilgrimage' to the bookshop. Now I am totally discouraged by this piece of news.
The Ghanaian Telegraph 5 days ago

There Is This Tradition/ In The Single Sex Boarding Schools In Ghana For The Boys Schools To Be Par With A Particular Girls School/ But In The Case Of Koforidua Secondary Secondary School/ We Were Par With The Mix Sex Achimot ...
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There Is This Tradition/ In The Single Sex Boarding Schools In Ghana For The Boys Schools To Be Par With A Particular Girls School/ But In The Case Of Koforidua Secondary Secondary School/ We Were Par With The Mix Sex Achimota Secondary School
The Ghanaian Telegraph 5 days ago

&The School Badge Of Achimota Secondlary School Was Carved Out Of The Keyboard Of A Piano

&The School Badge Of Achimota Secondlary School Was Carved Out Of The Keyboard Of A Piano
Akora 4 days ago

I believe it's just Achimota School, no 'Secondary".

Signed:
A proud Akora

I believe it's just Achimota School, no 'Secondary".

Signed:
A proud Akora
The Ghanaian Telegraph 5 days ago

Ghana People Have Not Taken A Liking To Playing The White Keys/ The Other Time The Ghanaian Public Were Shown Images Of The Dilapidated State Of The Universitys Computer Science Laboratory /Today It's The University's Book/St ...
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Ghana People Have Not Taken A Liking To Playing The White Keys/ The Other Time The Ghanaian Public Were Shown Images Of The Dilapidated State Of The Universitys Computer Science Laboratory /Today It's The University's Book/Store Which Is Being Left To Rot Due To Mal/Management Of The Facilities Administrators
Olive Vasco 5 days ago

I can relate to this. About two decades and half years ago, the love for books as an arts student brought me to University of Ghana Bookshop, Legon. That was my first time coming there just by direction. Reaching the campus, ...
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I can relate to this. About two decades and half years ago, the love for books as an arts student brought me to University of Ghana Bookshop, Legon. That was my first time coming there just by direction. Reaching the campus, I was shown the way by a male student who was nice to me and asked if I would like to come to the university as a student in the future. Our short conversation changed my mind and brought me to the university in 2005. Those books I used to buy there helped me a lot to pass my exams in SSS. When I came to the University of Ghana, I didn't stop patronizing the bookshop. Even as an alumnus, I still frequent there to buy some books just to keep me reading and gaining knowledge I couldn't not acquire from the lecture halls. Till date, I patronize the University of Ghana bookshop. The classic and hot books are missing on the shelves though while the the cost of books there keep going upward whenever I visit. Besides the books, I like the university of Ghana souvenirs I got from the bookshop. The shelves must not go empty in the digitalization age. The authentic hardcopy books are still relevant to some of us.
The random conversations with great minds! 4 days ago

Sir, you left out the pleasures of rounding a shelf corner and bumping into Dr Anyidoho or Danabang Kuwabong, and having the most surreal conversation about TS Eliot or Kobena Eyi Acquah! Browsing for hours and coming away wi ...
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Sir, you left out the pleasures of rounding a shelf corner and bumping into Dr Anyidoho or Danabang Kuwabong, and having the most surreal conversation about TS Eliot or Kobena Eyi Acquah! Browsing for hours and coming away with a stack of books one could ill afford on one's student loans. Those were the days when a chance meeting with Aloysius Denkabe would take you down a rabbit warren of Literary Criticism, or break your brain with discussions about James Joyce! I took my son there a couple of times when it was still Legon Bookshop, and he had the time of his life. I am sorry to hear it has transformed into a more commercial establishment. Where do students go to buy books these days, then. Or perhaps I should ask the fundamental questions - do students even read anymore?
OBK 4 days ago

Awww, Legon bookstore was the place to educate and enrich your knowledge. In the late 1980s and late 19990s, it was a place to be. So sad it's loosing its focus.

Awww, Legon bookstore was the place to educate and enrich your knowledge. In the late 1980s and late 19990s, it was a place to be. So sad it's loosing its focus.
H Aborbi 4 days ago

The dominance of rote teaching and learning combined with the advent of social media is partly responsible for the death of a reading culture in the country.

The dominance of rote teaching and learning combined with the advent of social media is partly responsible for the death of a reading culture in the country.
Godfrey Baidoo-Tsibu 4 days ago

I now understand. Last year I submitted my book, Bits and Pieces, to Legon Bookshop, to be sold. They called me a few weeks later to collect the sample copy and that was it.

I now understand. Last year I submitted my book, Bits and Pieces, to Legon Bookshop, to be sold. They called me a few weeks later to collect the sample copy and that was it.

Julius 4 days ago

I like this article. I wish the proprietors of Legon Bookshop will see this as a wake-up call to do better. Students won't need to buy office chairs.

I like this article. I wish the proprietors of Legon Bookshop will see this as a wake-up call to do better. Students won't need to buy office chairs.
OMKT 4 days ago

How right you are.
There is more to life than the school curriculum.
Having gotten lost in poetry, or a biography, an old thesis...,who cares if you would have spent all your pocket money.
A great exchange.
For some s ...
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How right you are.
There is more to life than the school curriculum.
Having gotten lost in poetry, or a biography, an old thesis...,who cares if you would have spent all your pocket money.
A great exchange.
For some snatched heavenly moments.
James (A V-mate) 4 days ago

Brilliant write-up! I spent several hours there, moving from shelf to shelf sampling priceless ideas from every continent of the world, from one book to another. Modernisation certainly has its pros and cons. Today, most peop ...
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Brilliant write-up! I spent several hours there, moving from shelf to shelf sampling priceless ideas from every continent of the world, from one book to another. Modernisation certainly has its pros and cons. Today, most people build their libraries on their smart devices and buy their books from online bookstores, which spells certain death for physical bookstores.

And thanks for mentioning Desperados. I was a Vandal too—J Block, Room 27.
Love of books 4 days ago

This is an interesting read.

Whereas well known and old bookshops like Legon bookshop are prioritising stationery over actual books there are new and emerging bookshops like City Reads Books & Stationery who are changing t ...
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This is an interesting read.

Whereas well known and old bookshops like Legon bookshop are prioritising stationery over actual books there are new and emerging bookshops like City Reads Books & Stationery who are changing the narrative about reading and accessing books in Ghana. By curating a wide variety of books they're seeking to make all types of books accessible to the every day Ghanaian individual, families and children. You should check them out on www.cityreadsbookstore.com
Spark 4 days ago

At long last, I've read a sensible piece on Ghanaweb. But there's no point in congratulating Ghanaweb because it has become the leader of publishing useless information in Africa.

At long last, I've read a sensible piece on Ghanaweb. But there's no point in congratulating Ghanaweb because it has become the leader of publishing useless information in Africa.
Mercy 4 days ago

Lord! You mean its all but gone??
Such nostalgia.
Probably need to visit it before the books all but disappear

Lord! You mean its all but gone??
Such nostalgia.
Probably need to visit it before the books all but disappear
Rebecca Abafum 4 days ago

I am glad someone finally commented on this issue. As the organizing secretary of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW), I want to share insights from my few years in the book and literary business. Just as it would be ridic ...
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I am glad someone finally commented on this issue. As the organizing secretary of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW), I want to share insights from my few years in the book and literary business. Just as it would be ridiculous to place a blacksmith in a barbershop, it’s equally inappropriate to put someone who doesn’t love books or literary works in charge of anything related to literature—they simply won’t succeed.

Consider customer care. Take a look at the activities of their customer and or the front person in charge of receiving books for sale. Their lack of enthusiasm seems to stem from a minimal interest and passion for books, as well as a poor understanding of the literary space they occupy. You can't just hire anyone to work in a bookshop; genuine passion for literature is essential. Without it, you might mistakenly believe that people don’t read, but employees who lack this passion are unable to connect effectively with the public.

Kingdom Books is in need of significant restructuring.
??? so much for being the Organizing Secretary of GAW 1 day ago

The article is about Legon Bookshop and Madam is writing in reference to Kingdom Books. She either did not even read it, or she is regurgitating a comment made on some other establishment. Either way this is an ironic confirm ...
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The article is about Legon Bookshop and Madam is writing in reference to Kingdom Books. She either did not even read it, or she is regurgitating a comment made on some other establishment. Either way this is an ironic confirmation that we don't even read - or, if we do, we don't even internalize what we read! Not a shining advertisement for the GAW!
Olive 4 days ago

In influx of these Chinese Malls have Killed Legon Book Shop to the Core. God Help Us. Amen

In influx of these Chinese Malls have Killed Legon Book Shop to the Core. God Help Us. Amen
Samson 4 days ago

This is so disheartening to read. I got some prized books in my personal collection from there about our beautiful country.

This is so disheartening to read. I got some prized books in my personal collection from there about our beautiful country.

Godfred 4 days ago

My favourite place on UG campus. Sadly, the experience is not the same anymore.

My favourite place on UG campus. Sadly, the experience is not the same anymore.
Emmanuel Fosu Frimpong 4 days ago

Oh no, I still remember the smell of stationery from that bookshop, will never forget their long sketch pad with Legon logo at the back plus their auctions too....
This bookshop should never die.

Oh no, I still remember the smell of stationery from that bookshop, will never forget their long sketch pad with Legon logo at the back plus their auctions too....
This bookshop should never die.
Nostalgic Memories. 4 days ago

Nice article. Alot of bookstores have suffered the same faith.

Nice article. Alot of bookstores have suffered the same faith.
Kobby 3 days ago

Please DON'T let the BALME LIBRARY be the next casualty oooo!!!!!

Please DON'T let the BALME LIBRARY be the next casualty oooo!!!!!
Kk 3 days ago

The writer used Ai to write this article! What a shame..

The writer used Ai to write this article! What a shame..
Aaron 3 days ago

You don't mean it , Legon Bookshop? The writer should lead in organising " a resurrection of the Bookshop from the dead. The Bookshop is a cherished memory . In 1985, when we entered Legon, it was just next to the Balme Libr ...
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You don't mean it , Legon Bookshop? The writer should lead in organising " a resurrection of the Bookshop from the dead. The Bookshop is a cherished memory . In 1985, when we entered Legon, it was just next to the Balme Library. Those of us from poor homes could quickly glance through some of these expensive books ,lock an idea or two in our memorandum ran away
Niella 3 days ago

Is it the same legon bookshop I visited some weeks ago or another? Because I'm yet to notice the furniture this article is talking about. The bookshop still very much has books in there. I purchased some Chinua Achebe and Chi ...
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Is it the same legon bookshop I visited some weeks ago or another? Because I'm yet to notice the furniture this article is talking about. The bookshop still very much has books in there. I purchased some Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda books some few months ago. There are new additions, yes, but don't make it seem as if the bookshop suddenly stopped selling books and switched to furniture and pens instead.
Baaba 3 days ago

I hope this is not true. For someone who loved to read, it was one of my favourite bookshops close to home.

I hope this is not true. For someone who loved to read, it was one of my favourite bookshops close to home.
K. S. 3 days ago

Ohk, the Bookshop has not been closed, only that it’s as good as dead!!!

Ohk, the Bookshop has not been closed, only that it’s as good as dead!!!
Wilhemina Larbi 3 days ago

I have never been to this place before, I hope to see the place for myself one day

I have never been to this place before, I hope to see the place for myself one day

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RIP Legon Bookshop: An obituary for a beloved Ghanaian institution that lost its way

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