Professional Development Programmes for Polytechnic Library Staff in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects

The study assessed professional development programmes available for Polytechnic Library staff in Ghana, and examined their prospects and challenges. The survey method was employed and quantitative approach was adopted for the study which involved only professional Library and para-professional staff of the Polytechnics in Ghana. Out of 80 copies of questionnaire sent out, 72 were retrieved representing a response rate of 90%. The study revealed that most of the staff were aware of the term “professional development”. They also confirmed that knowledge they acquired through professional development had also improved on their work performance considerably. Again, the study showed that Library staff had attended several professional development programmes which included workshops, seminars and conferences. Furthermore, the study revealed that professional development programmes were associated with challenges such as lack of finance and inadequate budget. However, the study recommends that Head Librarians should continue to allow staff to participate in workshops, seminars and training especially on the use of the electronic resources in the Library. Again, Head Librarians should liaise with the various Library committees to enforce the regulation by National Council for Tertiary Education for all tertiary libraries to benefit from 10% of the Academic Facility User Fee(AFUF) to enable them manage the libraries more effectively