Genesis

When I enrolled for a Bachelors in Librarianship, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. My first semester was something I hardly paid attention to. However, by the 3 semester / 1 semester of my Second year, I realised that this was my life and that I should therefore embrace it. Then began my relationship with all things Information Management. 

In 2004, I enrolled for a Masters in Librarianship, but wasn't able to complete it due to some things I won't go into. I then enrolled for a Masters in Information and Library Studies at Aberystwyth University in 2011. By the time I finally got a visa to go study, there was a job opening for a Librarian at my then work place. I was told that they wanted someone with a qualification in IT. Now if you are a librarian or IT professional, you know running libraries requires certain skills. So unless you have both qualifications, you will not be able to run a library.Anyway, I withdrew my application and went to Aberystwyth. I completed my Masters in 2012 and graduated in 2013. I still wanted to be a librarian even though my work then required someone with qualification in communication, advocacy and public relations. I soldiered on with my skills in writing, taught myself photography, basic graphic design and attended some talks and courses in Social Media management.

In 2015, I was burned out and bored. My library had been taken away and I had lost interest in what I was doing even though I was meeting new people and writing down their stories. Sadly, my supervisors could not see that. So I went ahead and quit my job. Only one member of management bothered to ask me why I was leaving moreover without a new job to go to. Honestly, I missed my library and had had enough of doing self taught work, yet I had a perfectly good qualification. I even attended a course in Managing Libraries and Resource Centers at ESAMI in Arusha, hoping for a more senior level if ever I got a job in librarianship.

In January 2016, I handed-over and proceeded to fill in application after application. Went for a few interviews here and there but none was for the position of a Librarian. I then had a whole year to come up with an idea and how it could be turned into a business. I contacted people in my field both in my country and abroad. I have a great network of people I have worked and studied with over the years. An old friend encouraged me to come up with a business idea to develop Records systems for companies. He even offered to be silent partner but partly funding the business.

I was also able to single-handedly rapporteur during the 2016 Congress for the Association of Health Libraries and Information in Africa. I listened to every presentation and discussion. I heard and learned about what was happening not only across Africa but also beyond African borders in the UK and US in health or medical libraries. Combined with what I saw during the study tour week in London while I was a student in Aberystwyth, I had some pretty good ideas about what a modern library, even in resource limited settings could be like.

In December 2016, I was contacted by my former employers to develop a filing system for them, sort out some old records and start on work to create a museum. I requested that I work on the Library too. Finally I had my hands on the Library. Aha! This then laid the foundation for what I call the LARM projects. Libraries, Archives, Records and Museums. This is a series of projects in which I am currently working with TASO(U) Ltd to upgrade the library, develop a records and archives management system and create a museum for the organisation. 

This is a first of many LARM projects. The host organisation or country doesn't matter. It is the idea that matters. Welcome to a series of updates on my maiden LARM project.