The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with its affiliated colleges of education on the use of e-library resources at the university.

The memorandum, which was signed at the Institute of Education at the University of Cape Coast, will allow affiliated colleges of education to access electronic library materials from the university's main library, the Sam Jonah Library.

Speaking at the event, the Director of the Institute of Education, UCC, Prof. Christine Adu-Yeboah, said the signing of the MoU is backed by one of the key tenets of the Bachelor of Education curriculum.

“We know that one of the key tenets of the B.Ed. curriculum is to train students to be independent learners. And to be independent learners, you need the resources. How can you learn independently when you have nothing to learn from? That constitutes one of the reasons for this MoU, "she stated.

She further stated that the tertiary status of the colleges of education required tutors to upgrade themselves and get promoted, which required resources. She further mentioned that the university has organized a training programme for all key staff of the colleges to be able to use the e-library, but the training will be incomplete without an e-library.

“We have organized some training programs for all key staff of the colleges to be able to use the e-library. We think that giving them training without giving them an e-library that has resources for them to enrich their knowledge and skills is like less than half the job done. ”

 The Provost of the College of Education Studies at the UCC, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, said that producing quality graduates requires a resource-rich environment and the colleges have to collaborate with the university for that. He added that in addition to the training the university is giving to the tutors of the colleges to equip them to deliver the national B.Ed. curriculum, the University has provided access to its main library.

He explained that the Sam Jonah library now provides books and other materials to tutors and students from all 16 affiliated Colleges of Education, and that the MoU will strengthen the long-standing relationship between UCC and the affiliated Colleges of Education.

“You now have the opportunity to use our books, but then this relationship must be guided by an MoU.”

The Senior Assistant Librarian at the university, Christopher Kwame Filson, stated that the library has a lot of electronic materials that tutors and students can have access to without being physically present at the library.

 He also said that librarians of the various colleges of education can make an arrangement to access books that are not available in their libraries from the Sam Jonah Library.

“Apart from the electronic materials, we are thinking of offering what we call inter-library loan so that you get access to our physical books," he said.

Mr Kwame Filson went on to say that under the current arrangement, colleges of education are required to pay a $1000 subscription fee, of which the university has already waived half.

He urged the principals of the 16 colleges of education to pay the subscription fee.

“We have e-materials that you can access, so just pay your subscription fee and then you can get access to 42 databases.”

Prof. Johnson Nyarko-Boampong, UCC's Vice Chancellor, announced that the university has organized training sessions on how to use or access the E-Library Resources for key tutors and staff of the affiliated Colleges of Education.

The Very Rev. Joseph Nkyi-Asamoah signed the MoU on behalf of the 16 colleges of education affiliated with the University of Cape Coast.