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IFRA Library was established in 1982, part of a worldwide network
of 26 research libraries in social and human sciences supported
by the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The library's collection growth has been restricted to social
sciences and humanities and currently stands at about 12,000 volumes
of books and bound periodicals. Books, journals, grey literature,
Theses/Dissertations and press articles form the bulk of the library
collection. The Library has a seating capacity of 26 patrons at
a time and has room for further expansion. New measures have been
introduced to streamline the information dissemination services
to our library patrons in order to yield better quality and satisfactory
information services to them.
Library Services
Opening Hours:
Monday - Thursday 9:30am – 5:30pm
Friday - 9:30am – 5:00pm
The Library remains closed on weekends, and both Kenyan and French
Public Holidays.
Contact us
Chief Librarian: Benjamin N. Masila (bmasila@ifra-nairobi.net)
+ 254 (20) 222 19 22
If you require specific information, kindly let know. We will correspond
with people who want to receive information in a precise research
interest. library@ifra-nairobi.net
Visitors
Library services are accessible at a membership minimal fee on an
annual basis. Prospective members are issued with the library rules
and regulations to read and understand before registration. Upon
registration, users are issued with a library card which has a unique
patron number utilized as the patron barcode.
Books / Monographs
Our collection is predominantly biased towards the Social Sciences,
mainly with a geographic focus on the East African Region (Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania and to some extent the Horn of Africa and the Great
Lakes region).
Grey Literature
The library is continually acquiring unpublished research papers
to add to its collection. Grey literature forms an important part
of the collection as the area of grey literature continues to grow
daily.
Currently with a stock of 900 bound volumes, the grey literature
section is a great area of interest to many researchers interested
in pertinent, fairly recent documentation in their various research
fields. These mainly unpublished reports and seminar papers on diverse
subjects, are also filed geographically.
Academic Theses / Dissertations
The library continues to receive copies of academic theses / dissertations,
particularly from researchers contending for the IFRA Award. Several
theses were received from Makerere University, Dar es Salaam University,
University of Nairobi, as well as from French researchers based
in French universities.
Currently the collection numbers 415 titles which have been classified
and catalogued in Sirs Mandarin database. The remaining titles are
records of academic theses and dissertations available at three
of the major state universities, namely Kenyatta University, Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology Institute of
Human Resources, and Moi University Eldoret. Abstracts from the
unavailable theses can be consulted at the librarian's office.
Journals (Periodicals)
Photo de la bibliothèque (2)
The library has a collection of some of the most authoritative journals
in select disciplines. The total number of periodical titles in
the library is 65. The current print journal subscription base stands
at 15 titles while the rest is acquired through a collaborative
exchange programme with IFRA’s quarterly journal ‘Les
cahiers d’Afrique de l’Est’. The library also
receives a number of offline journal content which is transferable
onto a CD-ROM or can be accessed through a stand alone computer
and is available upon request.
The Library is a member of the Kenya Library and Information Services
Consortium (KLISC) and stands to benefit from access to the world’s
famous online databases as EBSCO, Emerald, AJOL, Oxford University,
Cambridge University etc. The library subscribes to JSTOR content
online. Access journal subscription list
Newspapers
Until the year 2001, IFRA library continued to receive and bind
daily newspapers from the 3 East African countries as follows:
| Title |
Country |
Frequency |
| Daily Nation |
Kenya |
Daily |
| East African Standard |
Kenya |
Daily |
| East African |
Kenya |
Weekly |
| People |
Kenya |
Daily |
| New Vision |
Uganda |
Daily |
| Monitor |
Uganda |
Daily |
| Guardian |
Tanzania |
Daily |
| Business Times |
Tanzania |
Daily |
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With effect from July 2001 we stopped the binding of the Daily
Nation, East African and the People. This was due to the introduction
of the filming project, which is highlighted in the next section
on new developments.
Press Articles
Press articles form a critical part of the library collection. The
press service has been carried out since the establishment of IFRA-
Nairobi office and the collection thus dates back to 1982. As a
result, the library has accumulated enormous amounts of subject-specific
press articles over the years. The subject areas covered have varied
over time depending on the Institute’s changing research needs.
Most prominently featured are: land issues, governance, democracy,
gender, tourism, agriculture, environment, history, prominent personalities,
education, socio-economic issues and so on.
The articles are sourced from news dailies and weekly newspapers
from the three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
: Daily Nation, East African Standard, The People, The EastAfrican,
New Vision, Daily Monitor, The Guardian, and Business Times.
As a growing organ, the collection growth rate has superseded
the available storage space in the library. The library plans to
introduce digital conversion services to save on storage and increase
efficiency of access to these information materials. The digital
copies will be available online subject to access permission of
our users granted by the library.
Maps and Atlases
The Library has a sizeable collection of maps in modern map cabinets
and Atlases. These materials have information ranging from physical
maps, population distribution, drainage systems, climate, agricultural
activities, natural resources, among a host of other subjects.
Electronic Resources
The Library has a number of electronic information resources ranging
from CD-ROMS to offline electronic books, and electronic databases.
Currently electronic online databases are unavailable but other
content can be accessed from here.
New Services / Bulletin
Click here
for latest news at IFRA Library and other general information.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Proposed Information Services
The library plans to introduce interactive online reference services
for its clientele who are physically disadvantaged by geographical
separation. Clients who identify information materials from our
catalogue will be able to request an abstract of the document
and if satisfied with its contents, the client will be in a position
to order digital portions of the document.
At the same time, the library will introduce other information
media such as audiovisual and audio services. Users will have
access to video clips of episodes as recorded in various issues
affecting Africa, Indian Ocean islands and the World.
The Library is formulating a strategy to link up all the 26 research
libraries under the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that
research information among the institutes can be harmonized. This
will allow a global exchange of information, in a timely manner
within each of the institutes.
Associated Libraries
IFRA Library has an active collaborative programme with various
institutions. The aim is to strengthen research by gathering and
disseminating research information throughout East Africa, Africa
and the World. To this end, the British Institute in East Africa
has prominently featured as a collaborator. BIEA library catalogue
can be accessed through our website. Other collaborators include
universities in Africa and Europe, research institutions, International
development agencies among others. Click here to see Library partners
Career Development Opportunities
The library offers internship placement opportunities to students
of Library Information Science who are currently in their second
or third year of study. The library environment is highly integrated
and students are expected to benefit from this programme. At the
end of the internship period, students must present a full report
of their activities in the library. At the same time, the Chief
Librarian writes an evaluation report to the University/College
on the progress of the student.
Libraries in East Africa and France
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