Developing Library Leaders in Ghana

This study explores various leadership approaches in the context of Ghanaian university libraries. Twenty-six senior librarians and faculty from the University of Ghana were interviewed to determine their views on leadership styles, skills, training and barriers to developing library leaders. Findings revealed that leaders can be developed through short courses, workshops, seminars and formal training. The biggest barrier to library leadership development in Ghana is attributed to shortage of funds for training. The study is limited to the University of Ghana librarians and faculty of the Department of Information Studies. Therefore, generalizing to other library staff may be overstretching the conclusions. Nevertheless, there are important lessons to be learnt by all. The study recommends the need for training to be taken seriously in Ghanaian libraries. Additionally, the Department of Information Studies which is the only training school for librarians and archivists was tasked to create specific leadership programmes in the curriculum.