The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA), Hayford Siaw, has disclosed that public libraries in the country have increased from 36 facilities in 1981 to a total of 133 in 2024.

According to him, in the late 1980s, there were only 36 libraries across the country, making access to library services difficult during that era.

Speaking on the Joy News AM Show on Thursday, November 14, with Benjamin Akakpo about the state of public libraries across Ghana, Mr Hayford mentioned that the number of facilities had increased significantly in recent years.

"In 1981, we had 36 public libraries. Fast forward to 2017, and we have increased the network of public libraries to 61. The government, within the framework of the 2018–2030 strategic plan, which proposed we should have about 540 libraries by 2030, decided to implement an aggressive strategy to expand our reach.

"Today, we have added 72 new libraries to the network, so we are now managing 133 libraries under the Ghana Library Authority," he said.

Mr Siaw also noted that the number of books on the shelves of these public libraries had increased significantly.

"Books on the shelves, which had declined to fewer than 400,000, now total almost 2 million books in our public libraries," he added.

To keep up with current trends, the CEO mentioned that the Authority had recently launched a mobile phone application, allowing people to access a virtual library.

He also noted, "We have procured over 1,000 computers, which we have distributed across most of our libraries nationwide. Under the Ghana government's digital strategy, we have also expanded internet connectivity to almost half of the libraries we manage across the country."

The CEO further revealed that patronage of public libraries had increased due to the various improvements the Authority had implemented under his leadership.

"We used to record around 350,000 visits annually in 2016 and 2017, but today we are almost at 1.8 million visits annually. This means that many more people are visiting the libraries and using the resources," Siaw said.

According to him, their data shows that of the total number of patrons, 80% are children and 20% are adults. He specified that these children are aged 18 and below.

The Ghana Library Authority was established in 1949 by the Gold Coast Ordinance CAP 118 and came into effect in January 1950.

The Ordinance was re-enacted as the Ghana Library Board Act, 1970 (Act 327). Act 327 was further amended by Act 562 of 1998, leading to the transformation of the Ghana Library Board into the Ghana Library Authority.