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This article is an interview with Professor A.A. Alemna, an inspirational and interesting character with a varied career in library and information science, who shares highlights of his career.

Attempts to look at continuing education from the viewpoint of the library practitioner in Ghana. This is compared with the views of the library educator. It is found that although there were a few variations in their priorities, both groups agree that continuing education is important in professional development. Suggestions are made towards the improvement of continuing education in Ghana.

The aim of this paper is to review the development of the library profession in Ghana from its inception during the colonial period to the present day. It discusses the achievements of the profession as well as its problems. Suggestions are made for solutions to these problems. Wherever possible, comparisons are made with other library professions in the sub‐region, particularly with the Nigeria Library Association which is a sister organisation. The writer concludes that a lot still needs to be done by the Ghana Library Association in order to fulfil the basic attributes of the profession.

The issue of standards has always been uppermost in the minds of librarians, and has also received considerable professional attention. Examines the concept of standards for school libraries in Ghana and their functional applicability. Discusses the standards within the framework of stock; selection; accomodation; financial support; furnishing; services; competent staffing and inter‐library co‐operation. This has been developed in the light of the needs of schools in Ghana which are steadily realizing the importance of libraries.

This paper stresses the importance of grey literature to a developing country like Ghana. Present attempts at grey literature acquisition, storage and organisation are discussed. The writer is of the view that these attempts have failed due to reasons such as funding and staffing. A Centralised Documentation Centre such as a National Library is recommended for the country. Failing this, then, selected libraries should be properly organised to play this role.

There is excessive turnover among trained graduate librarians of the Ghana Library Board (GLB). All too often, the ones who leave are not the ones that management, as well as colleagues, wish would leave. An acceptable reason from the management point of view is that they leave to accept a position with higher pay. Management finds comfort in this explanation. Nevertheless, research has proved that employees leave for a number of reasons, besides money. The trained graduate librarians who leave the GLB are no exception. Examines the problems of voluntary turnover, by analysing these reasons, and attempts to offer suggestions which it is hoped could help reduce the incidence of turnover at the GLB to the barest minimum.

Reports an investigation into the information needs and information‐seeking behaviour of Members of Parliament in Ghana’s legislature. It concludes that a better understanding of this question is fundamental to the achievements of their job objectives. Includes the questionnaire used in the survey.

Discusses evolving trends in library consortia building against the backdrop of recent developments in some African countries. The expected benefits and barriers to consortia building are highlighted. The writers then suggest the way forward in successful consortia building among university libraries in Africa.

The importance of good management in information organisations is discussed, together with the need for management education for information professionals. Using the situation in Ghana as an example, the types of education being offered in both the library school and other continuing education programmes are explored. An examination is made of the weaknesses of the programme as well as future trends. It is concluded that, although the teaching of management is important in African library schools, every effort should be made to ensure that the academic levels and local situations are taken into account when planning management education programmes.

The academic support service provided by the library is critical to the attainment of the University’s central mission of teaching, research and service. This paper contributes to the quest for appropriate approaches for the training and development of academic librarians to ensure that the important role assigned to the library is fulfilled. It discusses schemes available in Ghana for equipping academic librarians with the requisite training and skills to enable them to fulfil their roles efficiently and effectively. In the process, a number of important issues such as training needs assessment and responsibility for training receive attention. Recommendations are made for more structured, consistent and systematic training and development programmes for academic librarians in Ghana.