The Cape Coast Regional Library has introduced electronic-reader tablets for basic schoolchildren to encourage them to read.
Currently, the library has 70 electronic tablets with 183 story books for the children.
In an interview, the Central Regional Librarian, Nana Kwame Appiah Kubi, said the tablets had significantly increased the number of children who patronised the library.
He said children were fascinated by electronic gadgets and so acquiring electronic versions of books on tablets was an effective way to get them to cultivate the habit of reading.
“We want the children to read. Now every child loves to have an electronic gadget and so we are taking the books to them to read on the e-readers,” he said.
He said the Ghana Library Board (GLB) would soon acquire vans stocked with books to reach children in the hinterlands and rural communities.
Mr Appiah Kubi said the hard copy story books were difficult to maintain, adding that children usually destroyed those books easily but with e-readers, children who visited the library were educated on how to use the tablets and to do so with care.
The regional librarian said libraries had not lost their relevance stressing that there was the need for the GLB to devise ways to make them more attractive to the youth.
He gave the assurance that libraries would continue to provide a conducive environment for all people, especially to study, research and acquire knowledge.
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Credit: Graphiconline