LaShunda S. Hill

Early on during my semester in Ghana, as I finished registering for my classes, I went to find the nearest campus bookstore to pick up my textbooks and assigned readings.

I was surprised to find that they did not have many of the books that my professors had assigned. When I asked the bookstore employees where I could go to find the texts, I was told that I either needed to look around for copies on my own or ask the specific academic departments for the texts.

The political science department did indeed have the texts on my reading lists and were selling them to students.

In the English department, I was also able to buy some of the texts that I needed. However, I soon discovered that although I was able to purchase the readings from the departments, all of the texts I bought were faded photocopies instead of the new versions I was accustomed to.

One of my English professors commented on the availability of books in a recent class. The professors expressed his displeasure at how hard it is for college students at the University of Ghana, especially those studying literature, to get their hands on actual full-text versions of readings.

Those few books that were available were expensive. Even the campus library offered little help in the way of readings, since many of the books were outdated and in poor condition.

I recalled my many long days and nights reading and longed for a visit to Lupton Library (at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) and the opportunity to purchase crisp, new books from the UTC bookstore. But I also was disheartened that most students in Africa do not have this choice.

Though the lack of books is a cliché in Ghana’s educational system, reading is indeed fundamental in reaching Ghana’s national development goals.