Kenya National Archives

AO. Un-sexy and "un-innovative" maintenance work

AO: This quote to me highlights the importance of avoiding progress narratives because in the nearly 15 years since this article was written by two American graduate students, the Kenya National...Read more

Carotenuto Matthew and Katherine Luongo. “Navigating the Kenya National Archives: Research and Its Role in Kenyan Society.” History in Africa 32 (ed 2005)

TM: Interesting peice that prepares the researcher of the wealth of resources at the Kenya National Archives. However, this archaival resources come at a price as the anthropologically romanticized struggle researchers face at the archives as they navigate the waters of the KNA is documented in...Read more

Gisesa, Lilian. 2008. “Libraries and Democracy: The Role of the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service.”

AO: This paper by Lilian Gisesa was presented at a conference in Nairobi hosted by the Goethe-Institute and Kenya National Librarians. It demonstrates the fluid relationship between archives and the libraries.Read more

Gregory, Robert. 1984. “The Development of the Eastern Africa Collection at Syracuse University.” The Courier, October.

AO: This article by Robert Gregory was linked to from the Syracuse Libraries website as providing more context for how Syracuse University came to hold the microfilm collection of/for the Kenya National Archives.

Abstract: "With the...Read more

National Archive as the store of the country's history

Chief Archivist of the Kenya National Archives, N.W. Fedha (1972) wrote :

The National Archives is really a store of all the history of this country. A country without history is like a tree without roots. But then how can a country hope to preserve its history...Read more

Syracuse University Libraries: Kenya National Archives

AO: This is a pdf of the Syracuse University Libraries' website which they states serves as a guide to the Kenyan National Archive collections at Syracuse University Libraries. I also included a sub-page within the site which describes how Syracuse University libraries partnered with KNA...Read more

Fedha, N.W. 1972. "The Role of the Archives in Research." Conference Paper. Nairobi, Kenya.

AO: In February 2019, I came across this document written in 1972 by one of the early chief archivists of the Kenya National Archives (N.W. Fedha). The document outlines the early history of the Kenya National Archives as well as the rationale and motivation for its creation...Read more

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