The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Library System recently welcomed a six-member delegation from the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Tanzania, as part of a benchmarking visit under the DANIDA-funded Building Stronger Universities (BSU4) Project. The visit sought to strengthen institutional collaboration through the exchange of best practices in grant management, research support, digital library services, and knowledge management.

During the engagement, the KNUST Library presented an overview of its operations, emphasizing its strategic role in advancing teaching, learning, research, and innovation across the University. The presentation highlighted the Library's network, comprising the Prempeh II Library and six affiliated college libraries, serving a community of over 86,000 users with the support of 112 staff members.

The delegation also gained insights into the Library's expanding digital infrastructure and research support services. These included access to more than 35,000 electronic journals through over 50 subscribed databases, the KNUSTSpace Institutional Repository, which hosts more than 16,821 scholarly records, the ongoing migration to the KOHA Library Management System, and the Research Commons, which provides dedicated support for faculty and postgraduate research. The presentation further underscored the Library's commitment to information literacy, scholarly communication, and research excellence.

A major highlight of the visit was the delegation's engagement with the KNUST Library leadership. The University Librarian, Dr. Richard Bruce Lamptey; Deputy University Librarian, Dr. Edward Mensah Borteye; Library Registrar, Mrs. Felicia Amankwah, and the, Head of Collection Development and Management, Rev. Dr. Kwabena Asiamah; led discussions on the Library's evolving role in supporting research, innovation, teaching, and learning.

During the session, Dr. Richard Bruce Lamptey demonstrated how the KNUST Library System has transformed beyond its traditional role into a dynamic research support partner. He highlighted the Library's comprehensive services that support faculty, researchers, and postgraduate students throughout the research lifecycle from information discovery and literature searches to research data management, scholarly publishing, research visibility, and open access initiatives.

Dr. Richard Bruce Lamptey

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic, Research and Consultancy at SUZA, Professor Abdi Talib Abdalla, expressed his appreciation for the visit, describing it as an invaluable learning experience that exceeded the delegation's expectations. He commended KNUST Library Sysyem for its integrated approach to research support, digital transformation, and institutional collaboration.

The delegation, comprising senior academic and research administrators from SUZA, also visited several strategic offices across the University to learn about KNUST's best practices in research governance, grant administration, innovation, and academic support services.

The benchmarking visit concluded with a renewed commitment to collaboration between KNUST and SUZA. It reaffirmed the KNUST Library System's position as a leading partner in advancing research, innovation, digital transformation, and knowledge sharing, while strengthening partnerships that contribute to excellence in higher education across Africa.