A community library built at Mando in the Ajumako Enyan District of the Central Region has become a “white elephant” because the community could not afford the services of a Librarian to operate the facility.

The edifice, which was established by the Youth Development Research and Innovation Centre (YouDric) with funding from the Michael Essien Foundation between 2011 and 2012 to encourage young people in the area to adopt the habit of reading, became operational for the first year of its commissioning and had since remained defunct.

The about 25-seater capacity library is stocked with lots of books, some old, others modern and mostly above the thinking capacity of the young pupils and students.

When the GNA visited the facility, the library was closed with burglar proof and big security padlocks, probably to prevent book theft.

The window nets were torn away, the compound was untidy, weedy and the paintings on the wall were fading away, which was marring the architectural beauty of the green and beige edifice.

The library has one desktop computer with no internet connection while the shelves that contained the books were also going bad and needed replacement.

Mr Isaac Kojo Amoh, Assembly member for Mando Taedo Electoral area, where the library is located, told the GNA that coupled with the inability of the community to pay a librarian, patronage was also poor.

He explained that the community through its internally generated funds was paying the librarian between GH¢100.00 to GH¢150.00 per Month but that was weighing down on their finances and had to stop.

This is because the community was also undertaking other developmental projects such as the construction of a KVIP toilet and borehole, which the small internally generated funds, was not enough to complete.

So far as the library continues to be idle, its primary purpose of enhancing the knowledge base of its beneficiaries cannot be guaranteed whiles standard of education keeps falling.