We’re delighted to announce that we have been selected to be a friend to Book Bunk, an organisation based in Nairobi that aims to drive the (re)utilisation of public libraries as inclusive and usable, contemporary public spaces. Our partnership will see us communicating regularly with the team in Nairobi, sharing expertise on programming, building renovations, governance, policies, and fundraising. This partnership is possible with thanks to the British Council.
We’ll be updating you regularly about this new partnership and we could think of no better use of our first Book Bunk Blogpost than to properly introduce this incredible organisation.
Book Bunk imagines that public libraries can be steered to become more than just repositories, acting as sites of knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange. They see them as sites of heritage, public art and memory. In April 2018, following the signing of a milestone partnership agreement with the Nairobi City County government to oversee the restoration of McMillan Memorial Library (CBD) and two of its branches in Kaloleni and Makadara, Book Bunk began a research season to explore how Nairobi’s citizens and arts fraternity perceive and engage in activities in public libraries. Their potential future programming is now informed by this research, with an aim of turning these spaces into inclusive and usable, contemporary public spaces for the social and economic benefit of the general public.
You can watch an introductory film, below, and keep an eye on our website as we keep you updated about this partnership project.
