The McMillan Memorial Library is a public library situated in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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. It is the oldest library in Nairobi, and the second oldest in Kenya after the Seif bin Salim Library in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

History

The library was built by the McMillan family to celebrate William Northrup McMillan, who died in 1925. Conceived by Lucie McMillan, construction of the building was largely financed by the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

, close family friends of the McMillans. The Library was officially opened on 5 June 1931 by Sir Joseph A. Byrne, Governor of Kenya.

Design

The building is a neo-classical design featuring granite-clad columns along the façade and a grand white marble trapezoidal stairway leading up to the portico. Two lions statues guard either side of the entrance. The statues were donated by Sir John and Lady Harrington, cousins of McMillan. The external walls were constructed of smooth rendered stone under a flat roof and the internal walls are clad in polished timber panels. The windows are glazed in tall steel casements allowing for ample natural lighting and the doors are made of heavy hardwood panels hung in timber frames, pedimented to the lintels. The floors are finished in parquet to the main areas with terrazzo to the entrance way.

Collections

The library holds more than 400,000 books including East African newspapers and periodicals dating back to 1901. It has been home to the proceedings of Parliamentary since its inception.

The McMillan Memorial Library Act

The McMillan Memorial Library is the only building in Kenya protected by a specific Act of Parliament, the McMillan Memorial Library Act Cap 217 of 1938 which provided that the library was for the exclusive use of Europeans in addition to the usual conditions for preservation of monuments. The library was bequeathed to the Nairobi City Council and was opened to the general public in 1962.

Restoration

Restoration efforts to restore the library and its branches in Kaloleni and Makadara are being spearheaded by Wanjiru Koinange and Angela Wachuka under Book Bunk Trust.{{Cite web, title=The McMillan Memorial Library by Tristan McConnell - The Fabulist - Aesop {{! Aesop Suisse, url=https://www.aesop.com/ch/fr/r/the-fabulist/the-mcmillan-memorial-library, access-date=2020-07-29, website=www.aesop.com, language=fr-CH

References

Public libraries Libraries in Kenya Buildings and structures in Nairobi