The Role of Librarians and Information Providers in the new Legal, Statutory and Regulatory Framework: A Discussion on Expectations, Challenges and Opportunities Highlights and Discussions by Charles Nandain, International Leadership University March 21st 2013 At the Catholic University of East Africa

1. The Role of Librarians and
Information Providers in the new
Legal, Statutory and Regulatory
Framework: A Discussion on
Expectations, Challenges and
Opportunities
Highlights and Discussions by Charles Nandain,
International Leadership University
March 21st 2013
At the Catholic University of East Africa

2. BACKGROUND
• The Library and Information Service sector is in transition
• The Library sector isb supported by a Parliamentary Act of
parliament - 225 establishing the Kenya National Library Services
Board
• The mandate of the KNLS Board mainstreamed on promoting
reading
• At the time of establishing KNLS, only the University of Nairobi and
Mac Milan Libraries were prominent. Currently, a network of
University Libraries add a formidable presence in the whole nation
• The Kenya Library Association made a great contribution in
mobilizing members and working towards a common cause
• In Kenya’s current constitution, libraries feature under the County
Government. This is an indication that Act 225 is most likely to be
reviewed

3. CONTEXT
• The context of this presentation is the ‘shift from the
previous statutory regime’ and the introduction of new
legal, policy and regulatory framework in Kenya.
• Chapter four of the constitution – Bill of Rights, Article
35 (1) (a), (b) as the main point of reference.
• Foundational articles that builds up to - constitutional
imperatives to ‘the right of access to information as a
human right’
• The likely expectations, challenges and opportunities

4. • A number of articles that form a foundation
to article 35 – access to information
• University Education Act 2012, and the Library
Standards by the Commission of University
Education (CUE) as the regulatory body in the
education sector

5. FOUNDATIONAL ARTICLES
• Article 1 (1) of the constitution gives the sovereign power to the
people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance to the
constitution or as delegated to the parliament, national executive
and the executive structures of county government and the
judiciary ;
• Article 2 (4) rules out of order any law that is inconsistent with the
constitution as void to the extent of the inconsistency ;
• Article 2 (5) any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya shall form
part of the law under the constitution ;
• Article 10 (1) the national values and principles of governance shall
bind all state organs, state officers, public officers and all persons
whenever any of them – (c) makes or implements public policy
decisions.

6. • Article 10 (2) the national values and
principles of governance include –
a) Patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of
power, the rule of law, democracy and participation of
the people;
b) Human dignity, equity, social
justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-
discrimination and protection of the marginalised
c) Good governance, integrity and transparency and
accountability; and
d) Sustainable development.

7. • Article 11 (2) the state shall – (a) promote all
forms of national and cultural expression
through literature, the arts, the traditional
celebrations, science, communication, informa
tion, mass media, publications, libraries and
other cultural heritage (c) promote the
intellectual the intellectual property rights of
the people of Kenya.
• Articles 12 (1) every citizen is entitled to – (a)
the rights and privileges and benefits of
citizenship (only) subject to the limits
provided or permitted by the constitution

8. • Article 19 (3) the rights and fundamental freedoms in
the Bill of rights – (a) belong to each individual and not
granted by the state; (b) do not exclude other rights
and fundamental freedoms not in the Bill of rights, but
recognized and conferred by law, except to the extent
that they are inconsistent with the constitution
• Article 20 (1) the Bill of Rights applies to all law and
binds all state organs and all persons - (2) Every person
shall enjoy the Bill of Rights to the extent consistent
with the nature of the rights or fundamental freedom.
• Article 21 (1) it is the fundamental duty of the State
and every State organ to
observe, respect, protect, promote, and fulfill the
rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights

9. • Article 22 (1) every person has a right to institute
court proceedings claiming that a right or
fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights has
been denied, violated or infringed, or is
threatened.
• Article 32 (1) every person has the right to
freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief
and opinion –
• Article 35 (1) every citizen has the right of access
to – (a) information held by the state and (b)
information held by another person and
required for the exercise or protection of any
right or fundamental freedom.

10. EXPECTATIONS
• Implications of information as a fundamental
human right
• Civil duty and obligation to provide
information
• The need for proactive methodologies and
processes to assure the right to access
information
• Demands by the citizens for information as a
right

11. • Excellence and prudence in discovering
managing, handling and dissemination of
information;
• Expertise, skills, abilities and capabilities of
retrieval of information in different formats;
• Remaining relevant to the information seekers;
• Development of values and attitudes that align
with the spirit and letter of the constitution;
• Professionalism – development of code of ethics
and standards of practice;
• Leadership and governance issues to ensure
TAPEE tool compliance.

12. CHALLENGES
• Traditional perceptions of great affinity to form of
content storage rather than information value
from the content
• Focus on content and information rather than its
physical form storage
• Emerging stake of information as the major factor
of production in economic development
• Multiplicity of players in the information service
provision to the extent that Information
Technologist play core roles than Librarians

13. OPPORTUNITIES
• Redefinition of modus of operandi – our business
process structure – beyond the physical format to
intangible portable format
• Professional training that is in tandem with the
information age
• Evaluation of our value systems and our ethical
foundations in handling information
• Leadership and Governance imperatives to
leverage to distinguish ourselves as a credible
professional body