Ho, July 17, GNA - Mr Alikem Tamakloe, Volta Regional Librarian, has appealed to individuals and corporate entities to help stock the Regional Library with adequate resources and connect it to the Internet for effective use.

He said currently the Regional Library together with other branches in the region were short of contemporary library material and lacked internet facility, a modern learning tool for both old and young people.

Mr Tamakloe said this at the celebration of the Regional Children's Book Day in Ho which was on the theme, "A book is waiting for you, find it".

He called for public support to government's efforts at making the public libraries viable and attractive to all categories of users especially children who needed to be motivated to appreciate libraries as essential learning tools.

"Well meaning individuals and corporate entities can help organize regular activities to ignite and sustain the interest of the youth in reading," he said.

Mr Tamakloe said the Region, with human capital as its greatest asset, needed a well stocked library to prepare quality human resource to contribute to the developmental needs of the country.

He said child literacy was the foundation upon which the youth's education career was built and hoped stakeholders would invest in children's library especially with computers and internet facilities to bridge the digital gap.

Mr Gabriel S. Kploanyi, Volta Regional Director of Education, in a speech read on his behalf, said fighting child illiteracy partly meant getting the child to learn how to read and continue to read children's books and called on stakeholders especially parents, to help children to develop the habit of reading.

He said this way the general standard of education would improve in the region with the assistance of teachers.

Mr Kploanyi advised children to join reading and debating clubs in schools and communities to develop their potentials for intellectual exploits.

Some pupils who excelled in essay and reading competitions were presented with awards.