How To Build a Library

In 2017, Kenyan writer Shiro Koinange and publisher Angela Wachuka set out to reclaim Nairobi’s McMillan Memorial Library, a colonial-era institution that had once barred Black patrons and remained frozen in the image of the British Empire. Determined to transform the decaying monument into a vibrant public space, they secure a tenuous management contract, inherit a skeptical staff, and begin reimagining its collections, programming, and purpose. As they digitize hundreds of thousands of texts and challenge colonial knowledge systems embedded in structures like the Dewey Decimal classification, tensions arise—both internally and externally with government officials whose shifting demands threaten the project’s future. Fundraising galas, satellite library launches, and even a visit from King Charles III bring visibility and prestige, yet underscore the enduring entanglements of colonial history and contemporary power. Despite political instability and bureaucratic uncertainty, Shiro and Wachuka’s efforts ultimately transform the once-exclusionary library into a dynamic cultural hub, embodying a broader struggle to redefine Kenya’s past and imagine its sovereign future.