Book Bunk

AO. Rejuvenation through revisiting issues of representation.

AO: The quotes re-posted here emphasize the importance of memory and the role of (re)-evaluating library and archive materials in terms of who they are serving. How to catalogue and add meta-data...Read more

Koinange, Wanjiru. 2015. “Lady McMillan, the Library.” Commonwealth Writers (blog). September 11, 2015.

AO: This article by one of the founders of Book Bunk, Wanjiru Koinange giving a descriptive history of the McMillan library.Read more

AO. Questioning common narrative of Kenya as "not a reading nation"

AO: This is a rich paragraph from Wanjiru's blog post that raises several issues. First, she identifies a common public narrative about how Kenyans do not read. I have also often heard some...Read more

Wa Gacheru, Margaretta. 2019. “Maya Angelou Tribute Inspires Young Readers.” Business Daily, May 30, 2019.

AO: This article describes a recent event that was hosted at one of the libraries affiliated with McMillan. It also gives a sense of the motivations and actors behind the revitalization of McMillan libraries.Read more

AO. Libraries key in making the intellectual formation of a people an urgent matter.

AO: This quote by one of the co-founders of Book Bunk highlights the important role that libraries (should) play in consciousness raising and intellectual formation of Kenyans.

...Read more

Decolonizing the library

“I was actually trying to find books by African authors. The content in this library are from the views of specifically white men, which is super problematic.” -Kenyan artist during a tour of the library.

“When it was opened in 1931, this library was never intended for African users. So...Read more

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