DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR PUBLIC ARCHIVES: THE PUBLIC RECORDS AND ARCHIVES ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF GHANA IN FOCUS

There is increased growth of digital repositories the world over. Many libraries, academic institutions, governmental and archival institutions are establishing and implementing institutional repositories. In Ghana, despite the growth of institutional repositories in some of the universities, the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD), which holds the country’s cultural heritage and history still, manages manual records. Day in and day out archives in their custody deteriorate due to frequent handling and the bad state in which the repositories are. There are no backups for the documents, thus, the archives that deteriorate beyond repairs are completely lost to future generations. The purpose of the study is to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a digital repository at PRAAD. Ten (10) heads of units participated in the study. A qualitative research design was used to carry out the study. A semi-structured interview was used to extract information from respondents.This paper reveals how beneficial digital repositories are to institutions that have them, especially its benefit to PRAAD. It reviews some challenges that hamper PRAAD from having a digital repository and suggests ways of getting PRAAD and its staff ready for a digital repository