Restoring Nairobi's iconic public libraries

Fantastic Progress! 

4 months since beginning our cataloguing process, our team of 6 have catalogued a total of 42, 469 books, with all cataloguing at the two smaller branches (Kaloleni and Eastlands) now complete! 

The oldest newspaper in Kenya's second oldest library!

In mid-July, we began the inventory process at the main branch on Banda Street in Nairobi's Central Business District, which houses archives dating back to the early 1900s. We have since catalogued the Africanah collection here ( a collection focused on Africa that has been a key resource for academics and researchers) as well as the Newspaper collection. Amongst some of the material we have recorded here includes early editions of The Standard. The oldest newspaper in the country, it was started as a weekly by Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee in 1902. In 1905, it was sold to Maia Anderson and Rudolph Mayer, who changed the name to The East African Standard. Lonrho Group bought the paper in 1963 and in 1995, it wa sold to Kenyan investors. The oldest edition catalogued at the McMillan Memorial Library is from 1906, and we are thrilled to explore access possibilities for the general public in the coming months! 

Meet Marion, our Lead Cataloguing Intern

Marion heads our inventory intern team, and is a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate from the University of Nairobi. When she is not cataloguing at McMillan Memorial Library, she is either indulging in fiction or writing book reviews on culture and fashion. Her cataloguing highlight has been coming across and reading excerpts from her literary favourites  including Langston Hughes. Once she completes her internship, she plans to continue working with Book Bunk to nurture a reading culture across Nairobi and Kenya!