| The following is a desecriptive study of the experiences of Ghanaian library volunteers working in village-based and underserved urban community libraries in Ghana, West Africa. This study explored the concepts of individual change and empowerment through participation in non-formal education activities. Through the perspective of the volunteers, this study revealed how skills were acquired and how those skills were applied in the management of community libraries. What learning/training strategies were employed by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Books Across Ghana (BAG) that established the community-based libraries, and what personal changes or transformations were experienced by the volunteers as a result of their involvement in the BAG training program?; It is argued in this study that non-formal education as an alternative development strategy that is participatory and people-centered and that involves learners as members of “communities of practice” brings about individual empowerment that leads to community change. It is further argued that by studying the ways in which the participating adults acquired and put into practice their skills and knowledge to manage library programs that aid their communities, a better understanding was attained of how change occurs in the involvement and participation of people in community life.; Participant observations, document reviews, surveys, and open-ended interviews were employed to answer the following questions: (1) What skills, attitudes, values, and knowledge have the volunteers acquired through participation in the BAG program, and through what processes did this occur? (2) What concepts of change, empowerment, or responsibility have the volunteers realized through their participation, and what evidence is there that they incorporate these concepts in the schema they use in other activities in their lives?; The findings indicated that as a result of participation in the BAG non-formal education and training program, Ghanaian volunteers gained new skills that they used in their work in the libraries and in other activities in their communities. As participants in “communities of practice” by which they learned new skills, the volunteers were empowered, as indicated by enhanced status in their communities. |
