A tale of two bookstores...

In Cape Coast, near the Castle, lived two bookstores... The first bookstore I found was small, about 20 square feet. It contained many textbooks for learning English, math, and computer skills. Two or three books about farming and family. It also sold study guides for exams such as the TOEFL. The few books for pleasure reading were inexpensive and produced in Africa. One book had a racy illustration on the cover but I think the characters were supposed to be Adom [sic] and Eve in Paradise. The bookstore was run by an amiable man who had some trouble understanding my Ghanaian English.

The second bookstore was twice as large as the first and was filled with fiction in English, German, Italian, and French. All the best-selling authors were there-- Grisham, King, etc. The man running this store understood my English very well, obviously accustomed to working with tourists.

The moral from this tale? What should libraries in Africa look like? Perhaps books for instruction in language, math, farming, and household management. The fiction would be simple and feature African characters and themes. Study guides for national and international exams would be available. The library would be staffed with people from the local community, a neighbor among neighbors.