Book Bunk

Nairobi’s rapid growth has not been matched by investment in public space or social infrastructure. In many dense, lower-income neighborhoods, residents lack safe, accessible places not only to learn, but also to gather and connect. The city’s public libraries — once intended as civic anchors — fell into decades of neglect, becoming physically degraded, under-resourced and largely disconnected from everyday life. 

Book Bunk is reversing that trajectory by restoring and reactivating Nairobi’s public libraries as inclusive civic institutions. Led by Book Bunk Trust, a Nairobi-based nonprofit working in partnership with Nairobi City County, the project rehabilitates historic library buildings and transforms them into vibrant, multifunctional “Palaces for the People.” The renovated libraries are free, trusted and open to all, serving as places where learning, well-being and community life intersect.  

Book Bunk begins with deep community engagement. Before any restoration or programming decisions are made, staff work with residents to understand hyperlocal needs, barriers and aspirations. This process ensures that each library responds to its neighborhood context while contributing to a shared citywide vision. To date, libraries in Eastlands and Kaloleni — areas long excluded from sustained public investment — have been restored and reintroduced as safe, dignified public spaces.

Restoration addresses both physical and social access. Buildings are upgraded for accessibility, ventilation and sanitation, while digital infrastructure, modernized collections and assistive technologies expand who can use the space and how. Environmental sustainability is built into redesigns through solar power, rainwater harvesting, low-energy lighting and outdoor green spaces that offer rare pockets of nature in dense urban areas and help address colonial-era environmental injustices.

Programming is central to daily life in the libraries. Educational support, creative arts, digital skills, health clinics, free meals and childcare are woven into a flexible framework that responds to community priorities. By bringing learning, care and creativity together under one roof, the libraries reduce barriers to participation and foster trust and belonging.

Book Bunk’s libraries serve as anchors of public life — places to study, seek care, share meals, create and connect. The model is expanding within Nairobi, including the restoration of the McMillan Memorial Library, the city’s oldest library, and nationally through the mapping of more than 1,000 public library sites. The project shows how investment in shared spaces can drive healthier, more inclusive and more resilient cities through stronger civic fabric.