Managing and accessing indigenous knowledge for national development: The role of academic libraries in Ghana

Abstract

This paper is to examine the role academic libraries can play to organize and make indigenous knowledge accessible for national development. The target audience for the paper are academic librarians in Ghana, researchers of African studies in Ghana and other stakeholders. This is a qualitative study with data from interviews with the librarians and a desk-top literature review. Academic librarians in Ghana recognize the importance of indigenous knowledge organization, but little has been done by way of research. Most academic libraries in Ghana have the basic resources to manage indigenous knowledge. Academic librarians need to be proactive in their collaborative efforts to manage indigenous knowledge. Academic librarians in Ghana should be proactive towards effective management of indigenous knowledge, for easy accessibility. Again, academic libraries need to be well resourced to manage indigenous knowledge. Finally, academic libraries need to create awareness about the importance of indigenous knowledge using different media platforms to all stakeholders.