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{
    "id": 1049724,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1049724/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 260,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Kiarie",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13322,
        "legal_name": "John Kiarie Waweru",
        "slug": "john-kiarie-waweru"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I really appreciate this opportunity to contribute to the passing of this Act of Parliament that seeks to establish the Kenya National Library Service and I actually support it. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, from the interest in the House, you are able to know what this country thinks about libraries. I know there are people who would ask why we would be concerned with libraries in such a time like this. There is an intelligent man who once said that if you are to ask why there is a need for libraries at a time like this when information is available everywhere, it is like asking if there is still a need for a roadmap when the roads have become as many as they have become. I personally believe that there is a place for libraries in this time and age. I am standing to support because I understand that by establishing a new library service, we are bringing the library services up to date. The old Act on libraries is probably 54 years old. There is a lot of progress that has happened since then and I believe that there are a lot of changes that have occurred not only in the library sector, but also occasioned by devolution and many other constitutional changes. It is for this reason that I do believe that we are in order to replace the existing board with a service so that we are able to bring this sector to modern times. This new Bill seeks to introduce persons who shall be serving in the library service. I believe that when we get to the Third Reading, we shall make some necessary changes beyond what the Committee has recommended up to and including streamlining the number of people who shall be appointed to the service so that they are in line with the Mwongozo Guidelines, which guide how we do the governance issues in quasi -government institutions and SAGAs It saddens me to see the state of libraries around this country. The plight of our libraries did not just become as bad as it is in our time. It is well known to me that, at the dying minutes of colonisation, as people realised that we were just about to get Independence, some beautiful libraries up to and including the McMillan Library were vandalised by individuals who believed that we should not benefit from the knowledge that has been deposited in libraries like McMillan. I know some people who were fleeing – because at that time there was what you would call white flight as they realised that colonisation was actually on its sunset days – who went into those libraries and picked some of the finest books, vandalised them or even stole them so that we, the future generations, would not benefit from them. So, even as the service is being set up, the people who will come to serve in that new service should also oversee the new thuggery that is happening in our libraries, which includes the plucking of pages out of very important books so that when you go to read a book, you find that there is important material that is missing in some of those libraries. Another issue that I think should be taken care of is innovation. With innovation and the advancement in technology, we will have to rethink the library. It is Sydney Sheldon, a writer, who reminds us that the library stores the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore, achieve and contribute to improve our quality of life. To be able to improve the quality of life in this day and age, the library of today will have to be modern. In Dagoretti South Constituency, we have attempted to put up a public library within the Dagoretti South Empowerment Centre. As we are doing this, I would imagine that in the Third Reading of this Bill, we shall be able to amend this place where this Bill is talking about other libraries to read “public libraries”, so that a library like the one we have in Dagoretti South Constituency can be encompassed as one of those that shall be served by that service. In introducing innovation in such libraries, we will need to create spaces that are of interaction and knowledge exchange. We will need a space that is quiet enough for contemplation. This is because when you are in a library, you want to absorb the knowledge. But you also want to contemplate on what you are reading. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}