(L–R) Christopher King and Maia Lekow attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Sandy Phan
After traveling the long distance to Park City, Utah, from Nairobi, Kenya, writer-directors Maia Lekow and Christopher King receive a warm welcome onstage for the January 26 premiere of their film, How to Build a Library, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
“We want this story to be more than about building a library,” King says, before the premiere. “It’s about building a country, building a generation, and building a culture. This is our Nairobi.”
How to Build a Library tells the true story of two women, author Shiro Koinange and publisher Angela Wachuka, who decide to focus their professional energies on renovating Nairobi’s oldest library, the McMillan Memorial Library, which was built in 1931 and originally designed for use by white people only.
In 2017, Koinange and Wachuka signed a five-year contract with the government to renovate and manage the McMillan Memorial Library in addition to two smaller branches (Makadara and Kaloleni Libraries). Filmed over eight years, the documentary follows their efforts to work with the community to get input, the librarians to gain support and implement new classification changes, and the government to support funding and approve the multiple contracts.
One of the many challenges they had to address was that the book selection in the library was representative of the British colonial white perspective. This, Koinange and Wachuka explained to the outraged parents, represented when the library was established and who it was established for. As part of their efforts, they would need to decolonize the books in the library and obtain a diverse and updated selection.
Another obstacle was the Dewey decimal system because it did not allow for African languages or African literature in its outdated numbering system. Koinange and Wachuka came head-to-head with one of the library administrators who wanted to keep the original classification. But keeping the old system meant maintaining the colonial past, which they were trying to change.
Lekow and King captured the strong bond between Koinange and Wachuka as they worked with the government officials to obtain the appropriate contracts needed and support their fundraising efforts. One of their successes is that the smaller Makadara Library branch has been renovated and is open for everyone.
(L–R) Angela Wachuka, Maia Lekow, Ania Trzebiatowska, Syokau Mutonga, Shiro Koinange, and Christopher King attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
While the filming for How to Build a Library has finished, the work continues for Koinange and Wachuka. A portion of the necessary money has been acquired for the McMillan Memorial Library today, but fundraising is still in progress, and the construction has not begun.
At the Q&A following the screening, Lekow explains how the project began. She and King knew Koinange and Wachuka several years before filming even started — the two had invited the filmmakers to visit the library and consider documenting the renovation project. “Chris and I knew that this wasn’t going to be quick work for hire,” Lekow recalls. “We were going to independently take this project on, and that’s how it began. We knew that this library was a vehicle for so many conversations and important conversations that had to happen.”
One of the difficult decisions that the directors made was to include the politicians in the film, not knowing if this would harm the future rebuilding efforts. Lekow and King have informed the library’s biggest donor about the documentary, but while they want everyone to be happy with the project, they can’t assume that all involved will want to continue after seeing the film.
“We are a bit worried about the funding moving forward … But I feel that this film is so much bigger, and I feel that audiences around the world will be touched by the film,” says Lekow.
Interspersed throughout the documentary are short interviews with local residents who shared their deep affection for libraries and their desires for cultural and community spaces that welcome all. This was the driving motivation for Koinange and Wachuka as they worked together to not only rebuild the libraries but also to represent Nairobi’s resilience and strength.
