KAMPALA, December 1, 2008 -- The World Bank Uganda Country office has donated over 600 books to six Ugandan universities, living true to its creed of promoting research in development through sharing its broad knowledge resources.
Donated through the Public Information Centre, the books were distributed to six selected state and private university libraries and the USAID-funded Anti-corruption Country Threshold Program (ACT). The university beneficiaries included: Makerere University Business School, Kyambogo University, Uganda Martyrs University – Nkozi, Bishop Stuart University, Ndejje University and Gulu University.
The six recipient universities representing each of the four regions of the country are generally short on reading materials especially on development. Some of the universities are also relatively new and have not yet stocked enough reading materials.
Contacted one month after receiving the book donation, Faith Akello, the Librarian at Makerere University Business School, said the books were being utilized to the maximum.
“The books on poverty eradication and economic growth are the most borrowed items from the Library. I have never kept a copy for longer than a day in my shelves,” she said, paying special tribute to the World Bank for this initiative.
The donated materials covered a range of subjects including: Agriculture and Rural Development, Gender, Energy, Environment, Education, Economic Growth and Development, Public and Private Sector, Governance and Policy, Health and HIV/AIDS, and general World Bank publications.
Handing over the books to the various recipients, Steven Shalita, World Bank Senior Communications Specialist, emphasized that the Bank had carefully selected the beneficiaries, whom it identified as being the neediest of the reading materials, and hoped students would greatly benefit.
“We hope that the reading materials which you have received will enrich your library and will be useful to your students,” he said to each of the recipients as they came in at different times to choose their preferred titles.
Solomon Osiya, a representative of the ACT, the only project other than a university that benefitted from the donation, said he hoped the World Bank would continue with this initiative and also promote a reading culture in the country.
“We request the World Bank and other partners to have this exercise done more frequently so that Ugandans can benefit from these rare titles,” he said.
Prof. Elijah Mushemeza, an Associate Professor at Bishop Stuart University said that with a well-stocked library, students would not go wrong on research. He attributed this to the common saying which states that ‘Knowledge is wealth.’
“Our University is barely three years old and has insufficient books to cater for the growing school population; however, with this kind of arrangement with the World Bank, we will definitely arrive at that level where we can favorably compete with the traditional universities such as Mbarara Medical School,” he added.
The Bank also used the opportunity of the book donations to forge partnerships with the recipient libraries so that they can encourage their students to use the development resources available in the Public Information Center. All the librarians from the beneficiary institutions were introduced to the latest World Bank publications and web resources as part of the program.
The World Bank Uganda Country office is currently working on formalizing partnerships to create Distance Information Centers that would bring World Bank knowledge resources closer to the public. Through the new strategic partnerships, the Bank hopes to reach out to a wider, country-wide audience.
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