Kimani Waweru

AO. Situating Ukombozi library

AO: This excerpt from Githethwa's post describes Ukombozi library.

We present books to JULAWATA from Ukombozi Library in Nairobi. Ukombozi means liberation in Kiswahili. The

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AO. "Rooted within working class struggles in Kenya."

AO: This excerpt from the interview highlights the importance to the leadership of Ukombozi library of rooting it within the working class struggles in Kenya and the importance of...Read more

Vita Books: Publishing against Imperialism: Interview with Shiraz Durrani and Kimani Waweru

AO: This interview with Shiraz Durrani and Kimani Waweru by Stephanie Kitchen was conducted in 2017 and published in Read African Books. Waweru manages the Ukombozi Library on a day-to-day basis and Durrani is the founder of Vita Books, one of the collaborating founders of the library.Read more

AO. Bretton Woods neoliberal policies of 1980s/90s reduced library capacities.

AO: This quote underlines the historical context of the Bretton Woods' Structural Adjustment Policies which heavily influenced the situation of libraries and educational institutions today....Read more

AO. Gap in relevant content in Kenyan libraries and learning institutions.

AO: This excerpt from the interview describes why Ukombozi Library was seen to be needed -- especially highlighting the perceived gap in progressive content in publically accessible libraries and...Read more

AO. Project-based approach to Progressive Librarianship

AO: This excerpt describes some of the projects (more detailed in the full interview) that give a sense of what Progressive Librarianship might look like.

A project-

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AO. Independence from corporate interests.

AO: This quote from the interview highlights the consequences of explicitly deciding not to be part of the dominant corporate scholarly publishing infrastructure despite the financial pressures...Read more

AO. Content of relevance for the working class.

AO: This excerpt from the interview raises the argument that of the work that is published and distributed, there is little content of relevance to working class Kenyans....Read more

AO. Publication Form, Format and Languages.

AO: This excerpt from the interview highlights the thinking by Ukombozi library leadership about form, format and language choice in scholarly publications in order to engage with a working class...Read more

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