The government plans to launch a Sh250 million virtual library next year, President Uhuru Kenyatta said Friday during the Maktaba Kuu launch in Nairobi.
The library, President Kenyatta said, will boost Kenyans’ access to quality, timely and relevant information held by the Kenya National Library from the comfort of their homes.
The two-year project is being implemented by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage in collaboration with the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
“The elaborate ICT infrastructure within the facility will facilitate community access to online information and connect them to the rest of the world,” he said.
The virtual library, with a capacity of 15 million publications and the first of its kind in the country, will be launched by June 2021.
According to President Kenyatta, 800,000 books, periodicals, research papers and government publications will be digitised in the first phase.
In KNLS’ 63 branches across the country, readers have access to 600,000 e-books, which will also be made available digitally.
President Uhuru Kenyatta opens Maktaba Kuu in Upper Hill, Nairobi County, on November 13, 2020.
Photo credit: Salaton Njau | Nation Media Group
The public waited years for the completion of Maktaba Kuu, Kenya’s largest library facility.
Located in Nairobi’s Upper Hill district, it houses the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) headquarters and is Kenya’s first multi-purpose library.
The library building has special features among them a 300-capacity theatre where children will read, tell stories and participate in reading competitions.
To cater for senior citizens’ intellectual needs, the library offers a 50-seat section dedicated to them.
Additionally, the multi-storey building has four auditoriums with a combined capacity of 1,200 people, where local authors and artistes will showcase their work.
Sanaa Centre, a 500-seater gallery, will also be available to local artistes to display their work.
The new library building also has a section for persons with disability with thousands of books and other resources in different formats including Braille, audiobooks and large print formats.
According to KNLS chairman Katana Ngala, the bookshop will be a source of revenue for KNLS, thus reducing its reliance on government funding for its operations.
A section of Maktaba Kuu in Nairobi, as pictured during the official launch by President Uhuru Kenyatta on November 13, 2020.
Photo credit: James Kahongeh | Nation Media Group
President Kenyatta called the facility not just a building but an ever-broadening platform on which Kenyans can build on existing knowledge to address the country’s current societal challenges.
“This marks an important milestone for us and for the future generations, who stand to benefit from our continued commitment to knowledge and information sharing,” he said.
The Head of State said the project is part of the Jubilee government’s pledge to open new avenues for Kenyans to learn, obtain information, to expand their intellectual horizons and promote a reading culture.
Among the first artistes to display their works are Kisii sculptors, whom the President met on his tour of the county during Mashujaa Day celebrations in October.
The President challenged national and county leaders to ensure libraries are strategically integrated into their development agenda as information resource centres.
“Citizens need transformative and empowering information to enrich their lives and those of their communities,” the President said.
The United Nations-The Nairobi Hospital (UN-TNH) Covid-19 treatment facility in Nairobi County that President Uhuru Kenyatta opened on November 13, 2020.
Photo credit: Salaton Njau | Nation Media Group
Elsewhere in the capital, President Kenyatta inaugurated a modern 100-bed capacity hospital built to cater for Covid-19 patients.
Built in a record three months, the Sh846 million facility is equipped with a 15-bed intensive care unit and a 45-bed high dependency unit (HDU).
The hospital was constructed through a partnership of the government, the United Nations and Nairobi Hospital.
The President said the fully-fledged hospital, with modern facilities such as laboratories and operating theatres, will continue to serve Kenyans even after the Covid-19 pandemic is contained.
He launched the facility accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Mutahi Kagwe (Health) and Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs).
