COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA
Keywords:
Public libraries, Community engagement, Climate change resilience, Climate information, Climate change, Kiambu CountyAbstract
Public libraries are accessible community information centers that can strengthen access to climate information, environmental learning, and public participation. This paper presents findings from a larger study examining how community engagement strategies adopted by public libraries relate to climate change resilience in Kiambu County, Kenya. Guided by Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Information Behaviour Theory, the study adopted a convergent parallel mixed methods design. The target population comprised 328 respondents: 300 library users, 16 library staff, four county environmental officers, and eight community leaders. The study included 164 participants: 144 library users selected through stratified and simple random sampling and 20 purposively selected key informants. The study collected data using questionnaires, key informant interviews, and document review. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically and corroborated with documentary evidence. Community engagement had an overall mean of 3.23 (SD = 0.37); only 18.8% of users agreed that climate outreach was frequent, and 20.8% reported participating in engagement activities. Climate change resilience was positively assessed (M = 3.56, SD = 0.37), although awareness and adaptation knowledge were stronger than action-oriented outcomes. Community engagement had the strongest bivariate association with resilience (r = .719, 95% CI [.629, .790], p < .001) and remained the strongest unique predictor in the four-predictor model (B = .359, β = .360, p < .001), which explained 61.7% of the variance in resilience. The study concluded that community engagement is the principal strategic priority for strengthening public-library contributions to climate resilience. It recommended that Kiambu County public-library management, branch librarians, and county environmental officers jointly formalize work plans, extend inclusive outreach beyond library premises, and monitor participation and follow-up action. The study provides locally grounded evidence for integrating public libraries into county climate-resilience planning.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Miti Mary Njuguna , Paul Maku Gichohi, Sophia Mjeni Tsenga
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