Kenya - Germany and Kenya - Libraries

Africa has long had the reputation of being a continent of non-readers. However, this is changing. School and self-help books are selling, as is literature. The network of public libraries in Kenya is expanding slowly but steadily. More than 10 percent of the population are registered users of a library.

Library landscapes
Portraits
Reading Culture
Library of the Year (Maktaba Award)

Library landscapes

The Library Landscape in Kenya. An Overview

The network of public libraries in Kenya is expanding slowly but steadily. More than 10 percent of the population are registered users of a library. Sometimes one has to be creative to reach the people outside the urban centres.More ...

Visitor to Stuttgart City Library; © Südpol-Redaktionsbüro/T. Köster

The Library Landscape in Germany. An Overview

Around 11,000 libraries in Germany, all with their own specialist areas and target groups, ensure that access to information and knowledge is as barrier-free as possible.More ...

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Portraits

Kenya Methodist University Library - a Gem in Meru

Students of Kenya Methodist University in Meru don't have to physically go to their library in order to work with the latest academic journals. E-learning allows (not only) distance learners to access the materials they need.More ...

Treasure Trove: The Kenya National Archives & Documentation Services

Thousands of people stream by the National Archives daily. Most do not realise that they are passing by a repository of Kenya's most significant cultural, political and academic history.More ...

Beauty and the books: The United States International University library

To many people, buildings that house books are equivalent to crumbling, musty structures. Not so with the USIU library, one of the best equipped and beautiful in Kenya.More ...

Book Caravan: Interlibrary lending via camels

Education comes to the Kenyan desert on four legs. The beasts of burden of the world’s sole camel library bring novels, school books and the promise for a better life to the nomadic people in the East of the country.More ...

TH Wildau university library; © TH Wildau

Award-Winning Innovation: The TH Wildau Library

The library of Wildau Technical University of Applied Sciences is developing technologies of the future for its users. It has now received the “Library of the Year 2012” award for its innovative spirit.More ...

Heilbronn mobile library; © Stadtbibliothek Heilbronn

Books on Wheels: Mobile Libraries

More than 100 buses and lorries can be seen chugging around suburbs and rural areas throughout Germany, bringing library services to people living far away from the nearest city or local library.More ...

Visitors to Anton Saefkow Library; © Anton-Saefkow-Bibliothek

Library of the Year 2011: Anton Saefkow Library

Anton Saefkow Library in Berlin is “Library of the Year 2011”: because it plays a central role in the local community as a place where people of all ages and ethnic origins are welcome.More ...

University of Constance Library; © Universität Konstanz

Reading Whenever You Like: The University of Constance Library is the 2010 “Library of the Year”

The University of Constance Library has for years anticipated the wishes of researchers and students. For this it received in October 2010 the highest German library award.More ...

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Reading Culture

Reading Culture in Kenya: A situation to worry about?

What is your first reaction when you visit someone's home and find the living room lined with bookshelves? What kind of country Kenya would be if citizens read as much as they discussed politics or the English Premier League?More ...

Book culture in Kenya

Africa has long had the reputation of being a continent of non-readers. However, this is changing. School and self-help books are selling, as is literature. Reading is becoming a trend because it forms the basis for education and education is the basis for career success.More ...

Ellen Tise © IFLA; Ingrid Parent © UBC Library

Past and Future of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)

Ellen Tise served as president of the IFLA till 2011. Ingrid Parent succeeded her in August 2011. Goethe.de spoke with both about the association's past and future.More ...

Unheard Stories: Buchkinder

Buchkinder Leipzig (i.e. Leipzig book children) is an island for unheard stories – a concept which has now been adapted all over Germany.More ...

opl_pos0_teaser: Jürgen Plieninger; © privat

A Singular Approach: One-Person Libraries

A lot of libraries in Germany are run by one librarian. Jürgen Plieninger of the German Association of Information and Library Professionals reports on the difficulties and opportunities that this entails.More ...