This is our Story
Founded in October 2017 by writer and publisher duo Wanjiru Koinange and Angela Wachuka, Book Bunk emerged from a passion for literature and the belief that art drives transformational social change. We envision libraries as centers of intellectual wealth, where individuals can explore their identity, and as spaces for nurturing and celebrating artistic expression. Our mission is to restore Nairobi’s iconic public libraries, including the McMillan Memorial Library, Eastlands Library and Kaloleni Library, into inclusive hubs of heritage, public art and cultural exchange. Our approach transforms not only the physical libraries but also their digital, social and experiential aspects.
Since 2019, Book Bunk has been preserving the collections of the McMillan Memorial libraries. This efforts have included creating the library’s first-ever digital catalogue, digitising and publishing rare materials and repairing the physical volumes. During this process, we realized the voices and stories of the communities using these libraries were absent, leaving an incomplete picture of our heritage. To address this, the Missing Bits project aims to build a crowd-sourced audio and image archive that captures diverse narratives. The public is invited to the libraries to record conversations and digitise their own materials, enriching the archive with their perspectives.
