Coverage of Library Issues in Ghanaian Newspapers, 2001 – 2006

Abstract

The study examined the frequency and prominence of library-related articles in stateowned newspapers in Ghana. The editions of the four newspapers, two dailies and two weeklies, published from January 2001 to December 2006 were examined. The editions contained a total of only 174 libraries-related articles, showing that library-related articles were seldom published. The majority of the articles (63.2%) presented what-took-place information on library-related events and episodes, and lacked in-depth background information and analysis of issues. Most of the articles were also on community libraries. Only 23.6% of the articles comprised feature or thematic articles, while 13.2% were letters. Only two of the articles were editorials. The articles were not placed in prominent locations in the newspapers, as only one article was published on a front page and the caption of that article was not as bold and prominent as the other articles on the page. All the other articles on libraries appeared in the second half of the newspapers. Library professionals should work toward writing stories frequently about library issues as they would be able to articulate the issues better than non-professionals. They should also provide information tips and feeds to journalists to enable them write informative stories on libraries.

Keywords: Libraries, newspapers, news stories, Ghana