Mr. Guy Amarteifio, the Greater Accra Regional Librarian, has appealed to the government, chiefs and other stakeholders to support public libraries for the country to achieve the objective of a middle income status.
Mr Amarteifio was speaking at the International Children's Book Day (ICBD) which is a project of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and celebrated annually in commemoration of Hans Christian Anderson's birthday.
Christian Anderson was a prolific writer of children's books and famous for his fairy tales which were not meant merely for children but also for adults.
Some of his books are "The Improvisator," "The Tinder Box," "Big Claus and Little Claus," "The Princess," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and the "Ugly Duckling" which was his autobiography.
The celebration is on the theme, "once upon a time, there was a story that the whole world told and the message was written by Francisco Hinojosa of Mexico".
Mr Amarteifio said the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) representing the IBBY Ghana, celebrated the ICBD annually by organizing competitions among Junior High, Upper primary and Pre Schools in the form of quiz, spelling Bee, Essay Writing, Reading, Drama, Poetry Recital, Cultural and Singing throughout the country basically in the Districts, Municipalities, and the Metropolis.
He said 14 schools were selected in the Accra Metropolis for the competition which is intended to address the perennial problem of reading in the country, showcase the importance of public libraries in national development and to encourage every pupil to read and have access to books and other reading materials.
He said the reading culture had declined considerably, and as a result, competitions are the means by which GhLA in collaboration with other interested parties would whip up enthusiasm in reading.
Mr Amarteifio said the GhLA had been promoting and marketing its programmes and services through the various extension activities and outreach services.
It organizes book fairs, increased its membership drive and organized reading promotion activities to help children to cultivate the reading habit, encourage library use and assist in the provision of quality education.
GhLA also provides Information Communication Technology centres and provides mobile library services with support from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications to automate the public library system.
He expressed appreciation to all stakeholders for their consistent support towards the programmes every year and for their handsome donations towards the organization of the programme and appealed to companies to support the GhLA.