Gumberg Library Sends Hundreds of Books to Spiritan College in Ghana

Duquesne’s support of Spiritan University College in Ghana continued with the recent donation of more than 200 boxes of books.

The effort began last fall, when the Rev. Peter Laast, C.S.Sp., Spiritan Provincial of the Ghana province, and the Rev. Anthony Anomah, C.S.Sp., acting rector at Spiritan University College contacted University Librarian Dr. Laverna Saunders expressing a need for books. Saunders shared the request with Duquesne’s deans, who responded with book donations from many different academic departments on campus. Some books came from the personal libraries of the priests who live at Trinity Hall and other donations came from alumni, retired faculty and other friends of the University.

Under the direction of Tracie Ballock, head of collection management at Gumberg, library staff spent more than six months collecting, organizing and packing up 222 boxes of books. The University partnered with Pittsburgh-based Brother’s Brother Foundation to ship the books to Ghana in June. The Rotary Club of Tema, Ghana, helped coordinate the shipment.

“Our staff is very committed to the Duquesne mission of service,” said Saunders. “This particular service project represented a unique opportunity to support our fellow Spiritans, as well as look toward the University’s strategic goal of focusing on Africa.”