For generations of University of Ghana students, “the Balme” has been a second home: a place for exam revision, group work, quiet reading and, sometimes, a nap between lectures. The library at the heart of the Legon campus is one of the best known in West Africa.
Established in 1948
The Balme Library was established in 1948, the same year the University College of the Gold Coast was founded. It began with a small collection that grew as the college developed.
David Balme
The library is named after David Mowbray Balme, a British classicist who was the first principal of the University College of the Gold Coast, now the University of Ghana. He was born on 8 September 1912 and died on 23 February 1989.
The main library
The Balme Library is the main library of the University of Ghana and the largest in the University of Ghana Library System, which includes satellite libraries in schools, institutes, faculties, departments and halls of residence.
Who uses it
Its main users are the university’s faculty, students, researchers and administrators. Visiting researchers can also apply to use its collections.
The collections
The library holds books, journals, theses, government publications and special collections on Ghana and Africa. Its Africana materials are valuable for researchers studying the country’s history, politics and culture.
Digital resources
Like libraries worldwide, the Balme has expanded into digital services, offering online databases, e-journals and electronic theses that students can access across campus.
Exam season
During examination periods, seats fill early in the morning, and students queue to enter. For many alumni, memories of long nights in the reading rooms are part of their university story.
The Legon campus
The library sits within the University of Ghana’s main campus at Legon, known for its distinctive buildings with white walls and red-tiled roofs, set among lawns and trees.
Visiting
Visitors to the campus can see the library from outside. Access to the reading rooms and collections is usually limited to registered users.
Rules and etiquette
Like most university libraries, the Balme asks users to keep noise down, avoid eating in reading rooms and return books on time. Students are reminded that seats are shared resources, especially when demand peaks before exams.
A name on every student’s lips
Few Ghanaians know much about David Balme himself. Yet his surname is spoken every day by thousands of students saying they are heading to “Balme” to study. It is a lasting memorial for the man who led the college in its first years.
