Best performing library to be honoured
In the picture are: From left: Mrs Nasra Gathoni, Mr Peter Gatiti, and Mrs Rosemary Thiong'o at the Maktaba Awards (Library of the Year Awards) on 19th September 2014 at the Louis Leakey Auditorium of the National Museums of Kenya. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The competition is open to libraries of all categories and sizes: school, university, community, public and special libraries.
- Participating libraries send their profiles to a central organising committee, which arranges for inspection visits to the libraries.
- The libraries are assessed on an established set of criteria for excellence. After inspections, the libraries are then ranked in their categories and the overall winner picked.
The Kenya Library of the Year awards gala will be held on Friday, September 30 at the National Museum in Nairobi.
Now in its seventh year, the annual competition, dubbed the Maktaba Awards, is a joint venture by the Goethe-Institut Kenya, the Kenya Library Association, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts and the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.
The competition is open to libraries of all categories and sizes: school, university, community, public and special libraries. Participating libraries send their profiles to a central organising committee, which arranges for inspection visits to the libraries.
The libraries are assessed on an established set of criteria for excellence. After inspections, the libraries are then ranked in their categories and the overall winner picked.
PROMOTE READING CULTURE
Through this project, the organisers hope to encourage Kenyan libraries and information centres to improve the quality of their services as well as to promote a culture of reading among Kenyans.
Participating libraries are assessed in areas such as currency, diversity and relevance of the library collection, integration of modern technologies in services and innovation and creativity.
During the gala, winners in the various categories - and the overall prize, Library of the Year - will be officially announced.
Past winners of the overall prize are United States International University (USIU) (2010), Kenya National Archives and Documentation Centre (2011), Kenya Methodist University (2012), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (2013), Aga Khan University (2014) and Dr Robert Ouko Memorial Library Koru (2015).
The best-performing libraries will be presented with cash prizes, books, trophies and certificates during the ceremony.
